This delicious risotto is versatile, indulgent, and comforting, and easy to adapt to make with any veggies. I used chestnut and shiitake mushrooms in this one, which you can get fresh or dried relatively cheaply from a Chinese supermarket if you have access to one. With the wine and meaty, textured mushrooms, this feels like a luxury but with minimal effort. It takes less than an hour and freezes well.

Ingredients (Serves 2/3):

Olive oil/ vegan butter
750ml hot vegetable stock
100g risotto rice
Glass white wine/ sherry
2 handfuls spinach (fresh or frozen)
125g shiitake mushrooms, sliced into thirds
250G chestnut mushrooms, halved
1 red onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
Nutritional yeast
Salt+pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper

Optional extras: Chestnuts, sage, basil, parsley, garden peas all make great additions to boost the flavour and nutritional profile of this risotto.

Method:

1. On a medium/ high heat, fry off the onion in oil/ butter in a large, heavy based saucepan or frying pan
2. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper, and cayenne and saute in some more oil for another minute
3. Add the rice and toast for a minute
4. Add the wine and stir (the pan should be hot enough that it sizzles)
5. Turn down the heat and start to add the stock, a bit at a time, stirring constantly
6. Add more stock slowly, waiting for each ladleful to disappear before adding more
7. Keep adding stock until the rice is cooked, and stir in the spinach (and peas/ chestnuts if using)
8. Serve with a few more twists of salt and papper, and nutritional yeast, and herbs to garnish with more flavour