risotto | organised castle

We were out and about for several hours today and since we did not start early, this included lunchtime. Rather than stop for takeaway food, we opted to continue our quest which included buying timber and hardware as well as ordering a garden shed.

So, it was almost 3.30pm when we arrived home so I decided to make a main meal. I am not sure whether to label it as a late lunch or early dinner but we had a delicious mushroom and bok choy risotto.

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Risotto is one of those wonderful one-pan meals that you can make using pretty well whatever ingredients you have on hand to add to the arborio rice mixture.

Here is a recipe based on what I made today but you can be as adventurous as you like when it comes to the flavours.

Mushroom and Bok Choy Risotto

Ingredients

1 cup arborio rice
1 onion, finely diced
Oil
6 medium mushrooms, sliced
1 large bok choy
2 teaspoons vegetable stock powder
1 teaspoon smoky paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
Water

Lightly saute the onion in a small amount of oil in a large pan (I use a wok). Add the dry rice and toss until coated with oil/onion mixture. Add stock powder, paprika and 1 cup of water. Gently simmer, stirring occasionally and add more water as it is absorbed – about 1/2 cup at a time. The rice will become cooked and somewhat creamy in consistency.

Meanwhile, separate the stalks from the leaves of the bok choy. Finely slice the stalks and saute in a separate pan. Finely shred the leaves. When the rice is almost ready add the mushrooms, bok choy stalks and leaves. Stir to combine and add seasoning as required.

Serve in bowls. The risotto can be topped with shaved parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast for a vegan option.

NOTES: I generally only add a maximum of 2 ingredients to risotto otherwise the flavours can be overwhelmed. Other options include pumpkin and spinach, green bean and sundried tomato but you are only limited by you imagination. You may choose to omit the paprika and substitute a can of crushed tomatoes instead of some of the water.

Tonight I want to share another dinner idea with you – risotto.

In no way could this be described as a recipe but more of a method.

Risotto is arborio rice cooked gently in a small amount of liquid. Keep adding liquid and stirring regularly unto the desired tenderness of the rice is reached.

I use my large flat-bottomed wok to make risotto.

Quantities for 2 adults (sometime there is enough left for 1 lunch).

1/2 onion, finely diced
1 teaspoon stock powder
3/4 cup arborio rice
Water

This will make the basic mixture to which you can add whatever you like. I used asparagus and sun-dried tomatoes.

Fry the onion in a little oil. Add the rice and toss to coat thoroughly. Add some water and the stock powder. Simmer and stir until the water is almost absorbed and add a little more water. Continue to do this until the rice is cooked and almost creamy.

I also added 2 teaspoons of powdered dried tomato with the water. Finally, I stirred through some sun-dried tomatoes and fresh asparagus cut into pieces and cooked for 1 minute in the microwave.

Serve immediately with a little grated cheese if desired.

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Pumpkin and bacon, broccolini and capsicum (peppers) or sweet potato and caramelised onion are some other winning combinations. You can experiment with different flavours but I would advise only using 2 or at the very most 3 ingredients or otherwise the flavours become overwhelmed. The only thing I do not use in risotto is mushrooms – they turn the mix a fairly unappealing shade of grey!