Easy Vegetable Risotto

I love cooking with vegetables, in fact it's pretty much all I do at uni. It's cheap, healthy, easy, hygienic and there's so much variety and so many things you can do! That's not to say I'm a vegetarian, I just find it saves me money. Occasionally for a treat, I'll get myself some British bacon, Scottish salmon (I'm careful where any meat comes from) or some free-range chicken.

Rave about vegetables over, let's get down to risotto. This is something I make if I have lots of veg to use up, or just if I fancy an easy meal, plus it's just yummy. The easy thing about risottos (this sort anyway) is that they're so approximate, so this might seem a bit vague, but do what you like with it!

Ingredients (serves 1)

• 1/2 an onion
• 1 small sweet potato or 1/2 a large one
• 2 or 3 mushrooms
• 1/2 a pepper (I prefer red)
• 3 cherry tomatoes or 1 normal one cut into quarters
• 1/2 a stock cube, chicken or vegetable, your choice
• 1 courgette, 1 carrot, 1 stick of celery, 1 beetroot, a handful of peas, a floret of broccoli - whatever you have! 
• A knob of butter or a dash of olive oil
• A couple of handfuls of risotto rice - remember that it expands!
• Seasoning, including any herbs you have - basil, parsley and mixed herbs work well

Recipe

• First step is to cut up all your vegetables and prepare your stock so that it's all ready to put in in stages while the risotto is cooking. Make about half a pint of stock with your half stock cube and boiling water.
• Melt the butter or heat the olive oil in a (preferably non-stick) saucepan over a medium-high heat, and add the onion, pepper, risotto rice, sweet potato and any other hard vegetables you have - so, carrot, parsnip, uncooked beetroot, celeriac etc. Fry them for a couple of minutes - stirring continuously so it doesn't burn.
• Add a portion of the stock - enough to cover the rice with a centimetre or so on top (not necessarily the vegetables). It will spit and hiss a bit, so mind out! Once you've added the first lot of stock, you want to keep an eye on the time. You'll probably need to cook the rice for about 20 minutes, but test it along the way.
• Keep stirring and when the liquid is all absorbed add more. 
• After about 10 minutes, add the mushrooms, tomatoes, beetroot (if it's packeted cooked beetroot), celery and any softer vegetables - such as broccoli and courgette.
• Continue to add the stock in stages, and keep stirring! If it looks like it's burning - turn the heat down.
• You can add a splash of white wine (if you happen to have some lying around...)
• After a further 5 minutes, add peas and spinach if you want to. At this point season with salt, pepper and herbs. 
• Test it about now to see how it's doing. It shouldn't be smushy, but should be tender and need biting. 'Al dente' is the correct way. Make sure it's not underdone though! Also adjust seasoning if it needs it.
• Now you're done! It's ready to eat straight away - enjoy!

If you have pesto lying around - I so often do - and it needs eating up (you should use it within 3 weeks of opening), whack a spoonful of that in. If you're feeling really adventurous add some tomato purée, or both!

I also sometimes add cheese too to give some more protein to the meal. I often snack on nuts, so I have quite a lot of protein during the day anyway. 

This meal is nutritious and cheap. It's definitely worth a go!

Complimentary tune of the day: Milky Chance - Stolen Dance

Tip of the day: Make your own lunches. What I do is buy sandwich rolls from the supermarket - wholegrain ones are so cheap - and split them up and freeze them. Bung one in the microwave and you can have a sandwich done in 3 minutes - a lifesaver if you're always rushing like me! If you have more time, a couscous or quinoa salad is a healthier option. 

---K