Cheats Risotto

Way back in 2007 a friend of mine Tamarah posted (online) her economical/quick/easy recipe for 'Cheap Risotto' using a pkt of French Onion Soup mix as the base. She used sausages as the meat component which did not appeal to me. I prefer to use cooked finely sliced chicken breast or cooked finely sliced roast beef. I tweaked the recipe further with the addition of fresh garlic and by building on the vegetables she included in her original recipe. We serve ours topped with lots of freshly shaved parmesan and a few good grinds of black pepper.

This is a lick ya lips delish one pot dinner (to serve 4) that appeals to one and all. Bowls are always left spotlessly clean (requests for seconds are commonplace, so best double the recipe if your home houses a hollow legged teen like mine).

You will need...

1 pkt French Onion Soup (I use salt reduced)
Cooked finely sliced chicken breast or cooked finely sliced roast beef.
1 lge brown onion (finely diced)
4 cloves of garlic (finely sliced)
1/2 bunch of celery (finely diced)
1 lge red capsicum (finely diced)
Small punnet sliced button mushrooms
Corn sliced from 1 fresh cob
1 cup of Arborio Rice
Olive oil - a slurp
Parmesan cheese (shaved) - to serve
Freshly ground black pepper - to serve

NB: You can really use whatever meat/veg combo you prefer or have lurking in your fridge. If making vegetarian risotto, simply add more vegetables.

You then need to...

Heat a slurp of olive oil in a soup type pot. Add onions and garlic and fry until golden. Next add vegetables and cook stirring until softened. In a jug add four cups of boiled water with soup mix, stir until dissolved. Add soup mix to pot along with the rice. Adjust heat to low and allow rice to absorb liquid with a gentle quick stir from time to time (taking care to prevent risotto from catching and burning on bottom of pot). Once the liquid has been absorbed and you have a nice risotto like consistency happening gently stir through the meat and turn off the heat. Let stand on stove top for a couple of minutes before ladling into serving bowls. Top each bowl of risotto generously with shaved parmesan and freshly ground black pepper.

We had this for dinner last night (see above). 4 bowls left spotlessly clean and rave reviews. Too easy I tell ya!!

Enjoy ;)

*Whilst the original recipe was called 'Cheap Risotto' I prefer to call my version 'Cheats Risotto' (still economical) - super tasty and no fuss!