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Take time adding the vegetable stock and keep stirring frequently. Let the risotto rest at the end with the cheese and chives to give it the creamiest but nuttiest flavour you can imagine. By the way, the celery is essential to the flavour and texture of this risotto recipe.

KEY POINTS

INGREDIENTS

COOKS NOTES: Risotto is a North Italian dish and aside from the basic risotto recipe almost anything can be added. We've made ours with roasted mushrooms but any vegetable goes well as does beef, ham, pork and chicken. Another favourite of ours is chopped Italian sausage.

The creamy texture comes from adding the stock slowly over the 15 minutes cooking time - this forces the starch out of the rice. The final touch of adding the parmesan cheese and butter is essential  - cover the dish and let it stand for 2 minutes. Warm plates help keep the creamy texture whilst eating.

COOKING EQUIPMENT
1 medium frying pan
1 oven dish to roast the mushrooms
A ladle if possible but not necessary

PREPARATION
Finely chop two of the garlic cloves and place to one side (for the risotto)
Finely chop one of the garlic cloves and place to one side (for the mushrooms)
Roughly slice the mushrooms
Finely chop the onion
Finely grate the parmesan cheese
Finely chop the celery
Finely chop the chives or parsley

Method
  

Put 2 (not all 3) tablespoons of olive oil in the frying pan and turn to a low heat. Add the celery, onion and garlic (for the risotto). Cook on a low heat for 15 minutes to soften the vegetables but don't brown them. Vegetables cooked this way are known as a soffrito.

 

After the vegetables have fried, add the rice and turn the heat up to medium. Stir for 2 minutes by which time the rice will have become translucent. Put the vegetable stock in a different pan and heat on a medium heat.

 

Pre-heat the oven to 190°C / 375°F / Gas Mark 5. Add the wine to the frying pan and savour the delicious aroma! Stir frequently for three more minutes.

 

Add a ladle (or a cup) of the heated vegetable stock and stir well. When the liquid is absorbed by the rice add another ladle of stock. Proceed like this for about 15 minutes adding more stock as the rice absorbs the liquid. At the end of the cooking time the rice should be moist but not flooded. It should stack up in the pan as in the picture. Season with salt and pepper.

At this stage, add a tablespoon of oil to a pan. Add the second portion of garlic, the thyme and the sliced mushrooms, mix together and fry on a medium heat for one minute. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the mushrooms to a baking tray and place in the pre-heated oven (190°C / 375°F / Gas Mark 5) for six minutes.

When the risotto has finished absorbing the liquid it will look like the picture on the right. Add half the mushrooms, all the butter, parmesan cheese and chives and stir well. Put a lid on the pan and let it stand unheated for two minutes. Whilst it is standing, warm the plates in the oven.

Serve on the warmed plates, top with the remainder of the mushrooms and grate a little more parmesan over the top for good luck. Risotto will not keep for any length of time so eat immediately.

SEE MORE VEGETARIAN RECIPES