Courgette & Lemon Risotto

Courgette risotto

Nicole at For the Love of Food hosts this really great blogging event called Taste&Create.  She pairs up bloggers and then they each make a recipe from the other's blog and...what else? Blog about it!

I was paired with Abby over at Eat the Right Stuff. This was great for many reasons, including the fact that I had never visited Abby's blog before and now I have a great new blog to add to my reader. As a bonus, Abby tends to eat pretty healthfully as I also (try to) do. Not that I picked an overly healthy recipe, because I didn't :)

I had a lot of fun poring over all of Abby's great recipes and while it was tough to pick just one, I landed on her courgette and lemon risotto. I definitely enjoyed this dish. I love the combination of lemon and basil so I knew I would like this. I would probably add more lemon next time around (the zest from the whole lemon, perhaps) as I tend to like things pretty lemony. I admit I don't use zucchini IN things terribly often and tend to have them as a veggie side, instead. It was nice to put them in something so hearty. In summary: a fresh, light take on a comfort classic!

Courgette and Lemon Risotto
serves 2

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. butter
1 onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, crushed/minced
1/2 cup arborio rice
1/3 cup white wine (I used pinot grigio)
2 cups hot vegetable stock (I used chicken stock since that's what I had)
juice and zest of half a lemon
2-3 courgettes/zucchinis, grated
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
handful of shredded basil
salt and pepper

Wrap the grated zucchini in a clean towel and squeeze out all the extra liquid. A lot will come out and that's important so don't skip this step!

Heat the oil and butter in a medium pan. Add the onion and cook until it has softened. Add the garlic and cook an additional minute. Stir in the rice and make sure it is coated with the butter/oil. "Toast" it for a bit. Increase the heat and add the wine, stirring while it reduces.

Add a ladle of the vegetable (or chicken) stock to the rice and stir continuously until the liquid has almost all been absorbed. Continue adding the stock by the ladle until the rice is cooked (risotto should still have a little bite to it, just like al dente pasta).

When the rice is done, add the zucchini, basil, lemon, lemon zest, parmesan, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and let stand 5 minutes before serving.