Mushroom Risotto...

…the ubiquitous meal offered to veggies at seemingly every restaurant in the land. Is there a vegetarian in the entire country who hasn’t had to plough their way through mountains of indifferent rice and sorry-looking funghi? Sadly, probably not.

However, there is good mushroom risotto and there is bad mushroom risotto. This one isn’t just good, it’s great! In fact, it’s almost as great as the one I had at a restaurant in Venice overlooking the Grand Canal. Unfortunately I couldn’t recreate the view but I guarantee this will give you a little taste of Italy!

There seems to be some debate recently over whether risotto needs to be continuously stirred or whether it can be left to simmer on its own as you would with any other rice. I am firmly in the 'stirring' camp; for me, it's part of the enjoyment of a good risotto....so soothing and therapeutic.



I followed this recipe from Antonio Carluccio but I halved the quantities to serve 2.



I’m thrilled to say my local supermarket has now started to stock veggie parmesan (well done, Waitrose) but if you find it hard to come by you can buy it online from Bookhams.com

My lovely son bought me a gift box of Italian goodies at Christmas so I have him to thank for our dinner tonight.