Last week I did our first ever family meal plan in an effort to save money on food (we were spending about $250 per week for two people and a toddler – that’s just crazy!), stay healthy and prevent food wastage. I decided to work in a meatless Monday every week, and this week was the second successful meatless main meal. This here was the first (it was delicious!).
I make my version of risotto quite often – it’s actually quite easy in my opinion and Hannah (our 14 month old) loves it. It’s also easy to work in whatever veggies you have on hand and it’s always tasty. And don’t worry if you don’t have all of the ingredients – I always substitute or leave things out and as long as you use a good quality arborio rice and a nice tasty stock you’re good to go. Here’s my version, feel free to adjust it as you like it! (I’m not used to writing recipes so if you have any questions on how to make this please ask!)
Mushroom Risotto and Chilli Mushrooms
Risotto
1 litre stock (vegetable or chicken)
2 cups arborio rice
1 brown onion, diced finely
2 garlic cloves, crushed
250g mushrooms (button or flat)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
Herbs such as thyme (and parsley for garnish) if you have them
Splash white wine, if you have it
Parmesan cheese (I’ve used a tasty cheddar before and it works fine too)
Green veggies – I used 1 zucchini, half a cup of frozen peas, some green beans and a handful of baby spinach
Chilli Mushrooms
100 g mushrooms (I used a mix of flat and button)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 fresh chilli (or a small dash chilli paste if you don’t have fresh)
To cook the risotto, start by heating your stock in a small saucepan on the stove. I heat until nearly boiling then turn down to low heat to just keep it warm. Keep a ladle nearby to heap the stock into the risotto.
In another (bigger) saucepan, pour olive oil and butter in and turn onto medium heat. When butter has melted, add garlic, onion and mushrooms. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon until onion is soft (careful not to let it burn). Then, add the rice and stir until rice is coated in the oil and butter. Season with salt and pepper. If adding splash of wine and herbs, add now and stir until wine has been absorbed by rice. (If not using wine, add a ladle full of the warm stock, and stir until the stock has been absorbed by the rice.)
Continue to add the stock to the rice, ladle-full amounts at a time, stirring afterwards, until half of the stock is gone and the rice is getting plumper. Add your green veggies and then continue to stir and add stock gradually until all of the stock is gone. Taste-test, and if the rice is still a little hard to the bite, add a little (1/4 cup or less) warm water and keep stirring until rice is soft. Once cooked, add cheese (and some parsley if you have it) and take off the heat. Put the lid on the saucepan while you make the chilli mushrooms.
In a small frypan, heat the butter and oil, add garlic and chilli. Stir, then add in mushrooms and cook on medium heat until mushrooms are soft. You may need to add more oil if the mushrooms have soaked it up (or for a healthier version, add some water or stock). When the mushrooms are soft, turn the heat to high for 1 minute to crisp up the mushrooms a little. Done!
Serve in bowls with the crispy chilli mushrooms on top. Add more Parmesan if wanted.