Oven-baked vegetarian risotto

HammondCare’s Head of Food Culture, Sarah Brown, shares this delicious winter warming recipe. It is a non-traditional version of risotto that cooks itself. The addition of dried lentils boosts the protein ratio - an important addition to consider for diners of all ages. For a delicious alternative, replace the mushrooms with roasted pumpkin or roasted cauliflower.

Serves: 4-6

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

4 tbsp butter

1 onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup risotto rice (such as arborio rice; short grain brown rice works, but the end result will not be as creamy)

1 cup dried green or brown lentils

6 cups reduced salt vegetable stock

1 tsp black pepper

For the mushrooms

            2 cups mushrooms (variety, chopped in half or quarters)

            Knob of butter

            Salt

            4 sprigs thyme

2/3 cup freshly grated parmesan

4 tbsp extra butter

Zest and juice of 2 lemons

Extra freshly grated parmesan, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180^oC
2. Pour rice, lentils, onion, stock, butter, garlic and pepper into a large casserole dish.
3. Cover tightly with a lid or foil and bake for 45 minutes until rice and lentils are just cooked (the mixture should be tender but not mushy).
4. Meanwhile, cook the mushrooms: Place a frypan over medium heat, add the butter and a pinch of salt, allow to sizzle, then add the mushrooms. Reduce heat to low, cook for approximately 30 minutes or until the mushrooms have cooked through, adding the thyme halfway through.
5. Remove risotto from the oven – it should still appear liquidy at this stage.
6. Add parmesan and the finishing butter, then stir vigorously until the liquid becomes creamy and is mostly absorbed. Gently stir through lemon juice and zest.
7. Top with mushrooms and the extra parmesan and serve straight away.

Handy tip: If the risotto becomes too thick, add 1 tbsp boiling water as required, and stir well after each addition to loosen the mixture.