Pea 'risotto' with mushrooms and lemon

Some rather painful dental work means that it's soft food for me for the next few days. But I'm not going to view it as being confined to baby food - instead, this is an opportunity for some soothing, comforting, and still delicious meals.

First up was a risotto of sorts. Risotto is probably the most elegant dish that you don't actually have to chew. I was inspired by Nigel Slater's 'green pea rice', in which the rice is swollen with pea soup. I've added pureed vegetables to risotto a few times before - it's a technique that works particularly well with pumpkin or butternut squash, as well as tomato, but I hadn't tried it with peas before.

 

My version takes all the peas down to a smooth puree, unlike Nigel's, and I've tweaked the flavours a bit and omitted the watercress. Instead I've added some lemon-flavoured mushrooms at the end. I noticed Nigel doesn't put any Parmesan or other cheese in his - personally, I'd recommend Parmesan (or even feta, though the effect is quite different), but you could leave it out if you want a vegan dish.

Ingredients

250g risotto rice
250g frozen peas
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 bay leaves
170g/ 6oz mushrooms (field, button, or chestnut will all work well, or try something more exotic like oyster if you feel like it)
Half a lemon, zest removed and grated or finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme or lemon thyme sprigs
1 tablespoon fresh flatleaf parsley, chopped
2oz Parmesan, grated, or cubes of feta (both optional)

Method

For the pea puree: Heat 1tsp of the oil in a large pan and add the onion and carrot. Cook, stirring for a couple of minutes, and then add the bay leaves and enough water to cover everything. Simmer for ten minutes or until the vegetables are cooked through. Add the peas and enough water to barely cover the peas, bring back to the boil, simmer for two minutes and puree with a stick blender or in a food processor.

For the rice: Boil the kettle. Add a ladleful of boiling water to the rice and cook, stirring. Continue adding water and stirring for about 10 minutes or until the rice is about halfway to being cooked. (I'm suggesting water, not stock, because you're adding the soup later on, though you could use stock if you want). Start adding the soup bit by bit, until the rice is soft with just a little bite to it and all the soup is used. (Add extra water if necessary). Stir in half the parsley and thyme. Stir in the cheese, if using, just before the end, and season to taste.

For the mushrooms: While the rice is cooking, fry the mushrooms in the other teaspoon of the oil, until soft and browned, or however you like them. Add a good squeeze of the lemon during cooking.

Serve the mushrooms on top of the rice, with the remaining herbs and a little lemon zest sprinkled over.