mushroom risotto

risotto

olive oil and butter
1 or 2 onion chopped
1 or 2 celery stick chopped
garlic (2,3,4 cloves as you like) chopped
cup of risotto rice (or paella rice if no can do)
splash of white wine
stock - home made - we use chicken - lots of/ with water
bay leaf (we believe fresh is better)

olive oil
mushrooms
onion
garlic
green chilli
splash of white wine

parmesan cheese

1. in one pan (heavy bottom) fry up the onion garlic chilli and mushrooms slowly, till they are dark and have let off moisture

2. in another pan (similar ) fry the onion garlic and celery slowly till softened. add the rice and fry till it goes translucent

3. add the wine to the rice which should boil off quickly, stirring the rice. then gradually add the bay leaf and the stock bit by bit stirring, letting the rice absorb the stock, until the rice is softer, but not completely mushy - al dente.

4. mix the mushrooms for a bit.

5. put on plates, and grate parmesan over the top, with black pepper, and maybe a little bit of posh olive oil.

6. serve warm, rather than hot - it makes a big difference.

anything can be added instead of mushrooms, the risotto base is fairly standard.