Leftovers for lunch

This has to be one of my all-time favourite meals in winter. Nothing beats a warm bowl of mushroom risotto with peas and a sprinkling of Parmesan. I've made this dish many times over, and I have to say last night's attempt has been the best so far.

I got this recipe from my favourite Food Network show, Everyday Italian.

The original recipe calls for 8 cups of chicken stock, but I've found that 5 cups is more than enough. The trick with making risotto is you have to keep stirring it, but not to the point where you have to stand in front of the stove for half an hour - just give it a good stir every 5 minutes or so, so the rice can absorb the stock.

This recipe serves about 4, so I normally put the leftovers in single serve containers to bring into work for lunch over the course of the week.

Just add a dash of water, put the lid back on loosely (it helps create some steam), and pop in the microwave for 2 minutes, give it a quick stir and another minute in the microwave and voila, the perfect work lunch.

Mushroom Risotto with Peas

5 cups low-salt chicken broth
1/2-ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups finely chopped onions
10 ounces white mushrooms, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice or short-grain white rice
2/3 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed
2/3 cup grated Parmesan
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, optional

Bring the broth to a simmer in a heavy medium saucepan. Add the porcini mushrooms. Set aside until the mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes. Keep the broth warm over very low heat.

Melt the butter in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add olive oil. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 8 minutes. Add the white mushrooms and garlic. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the porcini mushrooms to a cutting board. Finely chop the mushrooms and add to the saucepan.

Saute until the mushrooms are tender and the juices evaporate, about 5 minutes. Stir in the rice and let it toast for a few minutes. Add the wine; cook until the liquid is absorbed, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of hot broth; simmer over medium-low heat until the liquid is absorbed, stirring often, about 3 minutes.

Continue to cook until the rice is just tender and the mixture is creamy, adding more broth by cupfuls and stirring often, about 28 minutes (the rice will absorb about 5 cups of broth). Stir in the peas. Mix in the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.