Week 4 - Green green risotto

Alas, time got away from me again last week, who would have thought just one new recipe a week was such a challenge?! But I did come through with another delicious dish from Isa Does It:

Pesto Risotto with Roast Zucchini

Isa is the first to admit that risotto can often go awry and though I haven't had a lot of experience with cooking risotto, this one turned out to be mostly foolproof. Like many Isa recipes, it takes a little longer, but is so worth it.

I always love recipes that are not only rich and delicious but also filled with things that are good for me (which doesn't always go hand in hand in my kitchen). I liked how green and appealing my shopping trolley looked with all the herbs and zucchinis!

There's several steps involved in this, but if you're good at multitasking (and make the pesto ahead) it shouldn't take much longer than 30-40 minutes.

The pesto hit a bit of a road bump when I got home and realised I'd picked up parsley instead of coriander by mistake, which is far too pungent to add into this kind of combination. I also couldn't find fresh thyme so I substituted fresh marjoram, which still seemed to work pretty well.

The zucchini went into the oven while I started the onion and rice mixture:

After that it was just alternating the adding of stock and pesto until they were all absorbed and it was very creamy:

I also had some pine nuts slowly toasting in a pan so I could add these for garnish with the zucchini on top of the risotto:

In a word: yum. The garlicky zucchini was simple but delicious, and the risotto so flavourful and pretty. Would definitely make it again, if I had some pesto pre-prepared. A great warm and hearty meal for cold days. What's your favourite winter recipe?