This is one of my favorite recipes because it’s so versatile. You can throw in almost anything to the basic dish, which just consists of onions (or leeks), celery, garlic and rice and it will taste fantastic. Here I’m giving you the simplest version with a few optional extras and at the end you’ll find some suggestions for ways to make it a little bit more exciting.

This recipe will create 4 or 5 servings because its a very filling dish, but it can be kept in the fridge in tupperware for up to a week, or frozen for several months to use on one of those nights when you don’t have the energy to cook from scratch.

Ingredients

1 medium white onion (or 2 medium leeks)
4 stalks of celery (leaves optional. They will add a much stronger celery flavor, so if that’s not your thing, dispose of the leaves and just use the stalks
4 cloves of garlic for the risotto and 2 more for roasting the mushrooms (trust me, it’s not too much)
8 ounces mushrooms (any variety, but I use baby bella)
Small bunch of kale (3 or 4 leaves), stalks removed and roughly chopped. (optional)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (it’s not just for the cooking, it’s for the flavor too) and 1 Tbsp for the mushrooms
1 cup Arborio rice. (other types of rice won’t give you the classic creamy texture and will require different measures of stock from what is listed here)
1 cup white wine (optional)
3 cups vegetable or chicken stock (4 cups if not using the wine)
2 Tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper
3 oz Parmesan cheese (or vegan alternative. I’ve used Follow your Heart and regular old nutritional yeast. Both work great)
handful fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped, or 2 tablespoons pesto (optional)

Method

Preheat the oven to 400 F (380 if using convection)
Dice the onion and add to a large frying pan with half the olive oil and saute on a medium heat for a couple of minutes, until it starts to turn translucent.
Thinly slice the celery (and the leaves if using), and crush or finely chop the garlic. Add these to the onions and stir well. then cook on a low heat with the lid on the pan until the celery begins to soften (about 7 or 8 minutes). Stir occasionally.
While the onions and celery are cooking, slice or quarter the mushrooms (according to your preference) and add them to a baking tray with a tablespoon of olive oil, 2 cloves of roughly chopped garlic and a pinch of salt (mix well). Cook this in the preheated oven for 25 minutes.
Move the onions and celery over to one side of the pan and add the rest of the olive oil to the empty side, and then the rice (see photo). Turn up the heat to medium and stir the rice into the olive oil for 2 to 3 minutes. You should start to see the edges of the rice turn clear. This is because the heat is cracking the rice and allowing the oil to seep inside. Once you add the stock, these cracks will allow the starch to get out and thicken the sauce, which gives you the lovely creamy consistency.
After the rice has begun to turn clear, pour in the cup of wine, or if not using, pour in the first cup of stock. Mix everything together well and cover to bring to the boil. Once it’s reached a boil, turn the heat down again and stir regularly until nearly all the liquid has been absorbed.
Add the next cup of stock and the Kale and repeat the process of covering until simmering, then stirring every couple of minutes until the liquid is absorbed. This process will help bring the starch out of the rice.
Continue adding the stock a cup at a time until you have used nearly all of it, reserving the last 1/2 cup. At this point, test a piece of rice to see how cooked it is. It should still be a little al dente. If it is too hard for your taste, add the final 1/2 cup of stock and simmer for a further couple of minutes.
Stir in the Parmesan cheese and the lemon juice until the cheese has melted and fully mixed in with the sauce, then turn off the heat.
Now mix in the chopped basil or pesto if using and salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle the cooked mushrooms evenly over the top of the rice, then return the lid to the pan and leave to sit for 5 minutes. This step is very important to allow the sauce to thicken and the flavors to mingle.
Serve with a pot of pesto so your guests can add more to their plate to taste. A green salad on the side is also a great addition.

Remember that the mushrooms, kale and basil are optional, but they work well with a whole bunch of other vegetables that can be thrown in to create a more elaborate dish. Try some of the following:

Roughly chop a medium zucchini and roast it with the mushrooms. You will need to add 5 minutes extra cooking time and remember to use a big enough baking tray that the vegetables are not piled up on top of each other, or they’ll get soggy rather than crispy.
Add a cup of pureed pumpkin or other winter squash. I like to roast and puree winter squash in bulk and keep it in the fridge or freezer for making soup at a later date, but it adds an extra creamy, sweet, richness to this dish. I would omit the basil if I was using pumpkin/winter squash.
Use 2 cups of red cabbage and one cup of red wine in place of the kale and white wine for a colorful twist. The red cabbage will need to go in at the same time as the celery as it is slow to cook. I would omit the basil and mushrooms in this case. I’ve heard that this version is also excellent with chorizo cooked in.
Instead of roasted mushrooms, roast some halved cherry tomatoes in the same way. Omit the kale, but the basil/pesto is essential.
Literally spice it up by adding half a teaspoon of chili flakes (or more if you can take the heat) at the same time as the celery and garlic.

There are so many ways to switch up this dish. I really encourage you to experiment, or search online for different risotto recipes. There will probably one or two things in every CSA delivery that would make a worthy addition.

Mushroom & Kale Risotto