Fennel, courgette and lemon risotto

Serves - 4

You’ll need

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large fennel bulb, finely sliced, fronds reserved
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 medium courgettes, cut into small dice
• 300g risotto rice, such as Arborio or Carnaroli
• 150ml dry vegan white wine
• 1 litre hot vegetable stock
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp vegan block butter, optional
• Small handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Start with the fennel

Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a wide, heavy-based pan over a medium-low heat. Add the fennel and onion with a small pinch of salt and cook gently for 8–10 minutes until soft and translucent.

You want sweetness rather than colour here, so keep the heat steady and give everything time to soften properly.

2. Cook the courgettes

Heat the remaining olive oil in a separate frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the courgettes and cook for 5–6 minutes until tender and golden in places.

Season lightly, then set aside. Cooking them separately stops them disappearing into the risotto and gives you a bit more texture at the end.

3. Add the garlic and rice

Stir the garlic into the fennel and onion and cook for another minute.

Add the risotto rice and stir for 1–2 minutes until every grain is glossy and lightly toasted around the edges. It should look as though it has had a good coating of oil rather than simply fallen into the pan by accident.

4. Add the wine

Pour in the white wine and let it bubble until almost completely absorbed, stirring regularly.

The sharpness will soften as it cooks and leave behind just enough acidity to keep the finished risotto feeling fresh.

5. Add the stock gradually

Add the hot vegetable stock a ladleful at a time, stirring frequently and allowing each addition to be mostly absorbed before adding the next.

Continue for around 18–20 minutes until the rice is tender but still has a little bite in the centre. You may not need every last drop of stock, or you may need a splash of hot water at the end. Risotto has never been especially interested in exact instructions.

6. Bring everything together

Once the rice is nearly ready, fold in the cooked courgettes, lemon zest, lemon juice and nutritional yeast.

Cook for another minute or two, adding a splash more stock if needed. The risotto should be loose, creamy and able to settle softly across the plate rather than standing up in a determined heap.

7. Finish it properly

Take the pan off the heat and stir in the vegan butter, if using, along with most of the parsley and a generous grind of black pepper.

Taste and adjust the seasoning. The lemon should lift the sweetness of the fennel and courgette without turning the whole thing aggressively citrusy.

8. Serve

Spoon into warm bowls and finish with the remaining parsley, a few reserved fennel fronds and a final grating of lemon zest if you like.

Serve straight away. Risotto is many things, but patient is not one of them.

A couple of helpful notes
- Keep the stock hot while you cook. Adding cold stock repeatedly slows everything down and makes the rice cook less evenly.
- Carnaroli tends to keep a little more bite, while Arborio gives a softer, creamier finish. Either works very well.
- Check that the wine is labelled vegan, as some wines are clarified using animal-derived fining agents.