Mushroom, Leek and Onion Risotto

Risotto's are always very indulgent and to some can be scary to attempt to try at home, but I want to show you that anyone can make one. I wanted to try make it a bit healthier by using brown rice. Works well as a vegetarian meal or accompaniment to a meat main. Tastes just as good as what you get in a restaurant but with the satisfaction of making it yourself.

Sweat down the onions, mushrooms and leek together until soft with butter.

Add in white wine and cook until the rice has absorbed nearly all the liquid. This helps add flavour to the risotto.

Add stock, ladle by ladle, letting the rice absorb nearly all the liquid between each addition. Repeat this until the rice is soft. I like my risotto to still be creamy so the last addition doesn't have to be fully absorbed.

Ready to serve. Creamy soft delicious rice with subtle hints of mushroom, onions and leek. Rich but scrumptious. Couldn't have got better in a restaurant.

Mushroom, leek and onion risotto

serves 4

600ml Chicken stock

600ml Vegetable stock

2 Medium onions, peeled, quartered and thinly sliced

4 Medium flat mushrooms, roughly diced

Half a leek, thinly sliced

2 Garlic cloves, diced

60g butter

½ cup White wine

1 ½ cups Brown rice

¼ cup Parmesan cheese

Mix together both stocks in a medium saucepan and Place over a low heat to warm up. Meanwhile add butter to a large saucepan or frying pan and Place over a medium-high heat. Once heated add onions, mushrooms, leek and garlic and cook for about 10 minutes or until all the vegetables have softened and onions are translucent.

Stir occasionally to stop them from browning and burning, or sticking to the base of the pan.

Add rice and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour in the white wine and cook until the rice has absorbed nearly all the wine.

Now add a ladle of the warm stock mixture and cook until the rice has absorbed nearly all of the liquid, stirring every now and then to prevent the rice from sticking. Keep adding ladle of stock one at a time, waiting for the rice to absorb nearly all the liquid before each addition, until the rice is soft to the bite and the risotto is creamy.

Remove from the heat and add ¾ of the parmesan cheese and mix to combine. Season to taste.

Pour into bowls and sprinkle remaining parmesan on top. Taste delicious by itself or with meat such as chicken and roast vegetables.