MiniMonos Meatless Meal -- Marvellous mushroom risotto

This lunchtime, for our MiniMonos meatless meal, I’m making mushroom risotto.  My family feels like something rich (and meaty!) so this is a vegetarian option for them to get that urge fulfilled. Looking at the recipe, I don’t think I’m going to have any problems with the rich side of things!  We’re going to have to have a big walk afterwards to work it all off!

The building materials:

•    1 tablespoon olive oil
•    3 small onions, finely chopped
•    1 clove garlic, crushed
•    1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley or basil
•    1 teaspoon minced celery
•    salt and pepper to taste
•    1 1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
•    1 cup whole milk
•    1/4 cup heavy cream
•    1 cup rice
•    5 cups vegetable stock
•    1 teaspoon butter
•    1 cup shaved Parmesan cheese

The construction:

1.    Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil until onion is tender and garlic is lightly browned. Remove garlic, and stir in the parsley, celery, salt, and pepper. Cook until celery is tender, then add the mushrooms. Reduce heat to low, and continue cooking until the mushrooms are soft.
2.    Pour the milk and cream into the skillet, and stir in the rice. Heat to a simmer. Stir the vegetable stock into the rice one cup at a time, until it is absorbed.
3.    When the rice has finished cooking, stir in the butter and Parmesan cheese, and remove from heat. Serve hot. 

The verdict:

I would never have thought about putting minced celery in a mushroom risotto, but it gives a really nice top-note to the dish, along with the fresh herbs.  Yes it was rich!  As usual I put too much on my plate, expecting to eat the lot.  I’ll be glad of the left-overs tomorrow lunchtime, though. 

Right.  Time for our walk!  If. I. Can. Just. Get. Myself. Off. The. Couch.

This will be my last MiniMonos Meatless Meal for a while.  As MiniMonos has been getting busy, the completely marvellous kids who are part of our community have been displaying their talent for writing, art (and being kind and funny!).  From next week, I’ll be posting a best-of the week, so parents can get an idea about what their kids really do on MiniMonos!