Recipe: Baked mushroom risotto

Perfect for lunch or dinner on a cold winter's day.

This delicious risotto is prepared in an untraditional way but it does give you time to clean up and make a salad to serve alongside.

Ingredients:

15g dried porcini mushrooms

3/4 cup boiling water

50g butter

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 cups chicken stock

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 cup vialone nano risotto rice or similar

1/2 cup dry white wine

250g portobello mushrooms, sliced

1/4 cup each: finely grated parmesan cheese, finely chopped parsley

Squeeze lemon juice

Method:

Place porcini mushrooms in a bowl. Pour boiling water over mushrooms and stand for 15 minutes, until soft.

Preheat oven to 180C.

Melt 25g of butter in a non-stick frying pan suitable for hob and oven.

Add onion and saute on medium-low heat, until softened. Add garlic.

Bring stock to the boil. Drain porcini, straining liquid through a sieve into the simmering stock.

Chop porcini and add to onions. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Stir in rice. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Pour in wine and simmer until almost dry. Add boiling stock and cover. Place in oven and bake for 12-15 minutes until rice is al dente.

Meanwhile, melt remaining butter in a frying pan on medium.

Saute portobello mushrooms until softened.

Remove risotto from the oven when cooked. Stir in portobellos, half the parmesan and parsley. Serve garnished with remaining parmesan and parsley. - Serves 4.