GREEN RISOTTO

Green Risotto image

Provided by quierounvaquero

Time 1h

Yield Serves 4

Number Of Ingredients 16

olive oil
2 courgettes, de-seeded and sliced
One 250g pack chestnut mushrooms, halved or quartered
1,250ml hot vegetable stock (cubes are fine)
a large knob of butter
1/2 onion or 1 small onion, diced finely
1-2 sticks celery (depending on size), diced finely
2 fat cloves garlic, diced
300g arborio risotto rice
1 cup of frozen peas
2 sundried tomatoes, sliced into strips (optional)
3 heaped tbsps grated parmesan (grate on the fine side)
zest and juice of 1 lemon
a big handful of basil leaves, ground with a pestle and mortar and mixed with a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
ground black pepper
truffles

Steps:

In your largest saucepan (or in a cast iron casserole or a non-stick wok which makes this really easy), stirfry the courgettes and mushrooms in 1 tbsp olive oil for a couple of minutes. Set aside on a plate.
Bring the vegetable stock back to the boil in a saucepan, cover and leave to simmer gently (don't let it overflow).
Melt the butter in the pan you used for the vegetables and add 1 tbsp olive oil. Fry the onion, celery and garlic together for 3-4 minutes until soft. Add the rice and fry it, always moving it around, for another minute.
Add roughly 200ml or one large ladle of the stock (which should still be simmering in its own pan) to the rice. Stir it in well and add another ladle of stock when it is absorbed into the rice. Continue doing this until the rice is nearly tender.
Add the peas to the rice and stir in. Add more stock and continue stirring. Keep adding stock and stirring until the rice is cooked through.
Once the rice is cooked and the peas have had at least a few minutes in the rice, take it off the heat.
Stir in the sundried tomatoes, parmesan cheese, zest and juice of the lemon and the basil with the extra virgin olive oil. Grind a good amount of black pepper onto it and stir in. Ladle into bowls.
If using, throw some very finely sliced truffle on top.
Give each portion of risotto a little drizzle of olive oil and another grind of pepper. Garnish with a couple of basil leaves if you want to be all smartypants about it.
Om nom nom nom nom!