Green risotto with sautéed mushrooms recipe

Makes enough for six

Comforting and nutritious, this green risotto works as a substantial main meal or an eye-catching starter for a dinner party.

What you’ll need

1.2ltr vegetable stock
80g seasonal greens (e.g. kale, cavolo nero, spinach or broccoli)
4tbsp light olive oil
Salt and pepper
45g salted butter
1 onion
5 cloves of garlic
400g risotto rice
120ml white wine
Rosemary or thyme (optional)
80g parmesan (or a vegetarian alternative)
400g yellow chanterelle or wild mushrooms

What to do

Bring your vegetable stock to a light simmer, then add your greens minus any woody stalks. Cook the greens until tender, then remove from the stock. Pour the stock into a jug. Blend your greens in a food processor with two tablespoons of oil and a little salt and pepper, then set aside.

Add a tablespoon of oil and about a third of the butter to a pan along with the finely diced onion. Cook on a medium heat until the onion is soft but without colour.

Crush three of the garlic cloves and add them with the rice to the pan. Gently toast off the rice before adding the white wine and reducing this until almost gone.

Pour in the stock one ladleful at a time, stirring continuously, allowing the rice to slowly soak up the stock before adding more. You can also add a few sprigs of rosemary or thyme to elevate the risotto if you like, just be sure to discard the woody stems before serving.

Once the rice is cooked with a slight bite, stir through the blended greens to create the most amazing green risotto. Follow this with half the parmesan and another third of the butter to emulsify the risotto and give it a glossy texture. Season and allow to sit with a lid on for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, sauté the chanterelle (or wild) mushrooms in the rest of the butter and a tablespoon of oil. Once they begin to colour, add the two remaining cloves of crushed garlic, and cook for a further two minutes, then season.