So many potential posts, so little time...

Where to start? Hmm - chronological order always has a certain something about it don't you think? Lol.

This then was an adapted risotto dish I made on the Saturday prior to Chap's son arriving on the Monday. I'd fancied trying Risotto Milanese for a while - I love risotto and the Milanese variant was the first dish I had at the Chap's peres - me being a pescatarian really threw them so his dad looked this up especially and it was gorgeous. It's a fairly basic risotto flavoured with saffron and parmesan. We however were quite hungry on Saturday so I adapted the recipe I had from the BBC Good Food website and bulked it out with some additional veg to end up with the dish below.

Risotto Milanese-ish

2 small onions finely chopped

50g butter
8ish mushrooms finely sliced
250g / 8ozish risotto rice [sort-grained; pudding stuff also works]
0.25 pint white wine

2 good pinches saffron strands

1 pint veg stock

Cupped handful broccoli florets

75g / 2-3ozish parmesan + few shavings to top

S+P as needed

Gently melt half the butter in a wide based deepish frying pan.

Add the onions and stir then cover whilst you slice the mushrooms.

Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook gently for few minutes to soften. Keep the lid on to keep in all the nice mushroomy juices.
Once the onion and shrooms are lightly cooked add the rice and stir it all around to coat in the butter and juices.

Add the wine and turn the heat up. Simmer to evaporate off the alcohol, just leaving the wine taste behind.

Add the saffron and a splosh [1/4 pint ish] of stock. Stir until the stock has been absorbed - the heat should be enough to keep a gentle simmer going.

Add another splosh of stock and stir until absorbed.

Repeat until almost all stock used - should be 15-20 mins for all of it. [Risotto rice (arborio) should end up creamy with a hint of bite left to it.]

With the last splosh or 2 of stock add the broccoli florets so they get 3ish mins cooking.

Beat in the remaining butter and the parmesan. Taste and season if necessary.

Serve with a few shavings of parmesan sprinkled over the top.

This was tasty and more than enough for the 2 of us, even ravenous as we were. I think the saffron was lost a bit under the mushroom taste but it was nice to give it a try.

Risotto is one of those p*ss easy dishes that actually don't take that long if you don't subscribe to the 'one ladleful at a time' school of stock-addition; which I don't. Just don't walk away from it - it must have constant stirring or you'll end up with a sticky mass burnt onto the bottom of the pan!

Woop - finally got this to post, albeit minus the pic. That's up there ^ see? Blogger does like to test me sometimes...