Bethany's Vegan Kitchen

In addition to my mushroom obsession, I seem to also be on a leek binge. There are worse things to binge on I suppose. This creamy, filling risotto is a perfect way to use up any abandoned leeks you might have in your fridge.

Yield; Four servings (405 kcal per serving) Cook time; 50 minutes

You’ll need; 

1. One tablespoon of non-dairy margarine
2. Two leeks, sliced
3. 250g(9oz) meat free “bacon”, cubed (I used Fry’s polony sausage)
4. 300g(10.5oz) risotto rice
5. One litre of hot vegetable stock
6. One tablespoon of dried parsley
7. One teaspoon of dried thyme
8. 50ml non-dairy cream (I used Alpro single soya cream)

Method;

• Melt the non-dairy margarine in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Once melted, add the leek and meat free “bacon”.
• Cook for ten to fifteen minutes, or until the leek is tender. Once cooked, set aside.
• In the same frying pan, add the risotto rice. Keep stirring the rice until the edges of the grains become translucent. At this point you can add the herbs and start adding the stock.
• Add the stock a ladle at a time, keep stirring the rice until the stock is absorbed, then add more stock. Keep doing this until you’ve used all the stock.
• Once the rice is cooked, stir the leek, “bacon” and cream through the rice. Allow to heat through, five minutes should be sufficient. Leave to stand for two minutes before serving.

I love comforting, cosy food like risotto, and it doesn’t get much cosier than this.