If like me, you have fallen victim to ‘softening of the body’ as a result of Covid ‘lockdown’ whereby you are constantly eating ‘healthy’ home-made food but
You are fundamentally opposed to the concept of banning certain foods and
You are an avid mushroomist and
Find comfort in risotto then
My friend, this is for you.

Ingredients:

> 170g Arborio rice
> 100ml Whole milk
> 370g Skinless chicken breast / chopped in small 2cm chunks
> 1/2 teaspoon Olive oli
> Whole garlic / crushed (yes, a whole garlic)
> 1 medium red onion /finely chopped
> Chicken stock, roughly 500ml
> 750g all different kinds of mushrooms* / chopped

Total Calories 1300 / Serves 2 if you’re really hungry / Serves 3-4 if you have a side to go with it

*Note on the mushrooms, you can use ‘normal’ chestnuts only but having a variety of mushrooms adds to the depth of flavour, I used about 250g of normal then put in a bit of shiitake, oyster, chanterelles, king Edwards and some other random ones that were at the shops - feel free to mushroom-freestyle

METHOD

1. Sauté the onions in the olive oil over medium heat

2. When the onions are semi-brown, add the garlic and sauté for about two minutes, don’t let the garlic burn

3. Add the mushrooms and sauté till they relax and get a little soft

4. Add the arborio and sauté till mushrooms and rice are integrated then add a cup of stock

5. This is where you have to leave it but keep coming back to mix, the mixing is crucial because you don’t want the risotto to stick to the bottom

6. Keep adding a bit of the stock and mixing, the rice will start to turn from white to clear then get fatter as it absorbs the liquid

7. When the rice is almost done, add the milk towards the end and let it sit for about 2-5 min

8. Enjoy the taste of autumnal earthiness

> Listen to this mushroomist aka mycologist Paul Stamets talk about
'how mushrooms can save the world'