Women’s Fitness Australia — May 2017

RISOTTO

olive oil

2 celery sticks, fi nely chopped

salt and pepper

5 garlic cloves, crushed

350g short-grain brown rice

400ml can of coconut milk

2 tbs apple cider vinegar

juice of 1 lemon

2 small zucchini, sliced into

half moons

300g frozen peas, defrosted

a few sprigs of fresh mint, leaves

picked and roughly chopped

CREAMY PEA MIX

200g frozen peas, defrosted

juice of 2 lemons

leaves from 20g fresh basil

2 tbs nutritional yeast

70ml olive oil

1 Put a big glug of olive oil into a

large saucepan with a lid and set it

over a medium heat.

2 Add the celery, salt and pepper,

and cook for about 10 minutes or

until soft. Add the garlic and cook for

another minute before adding the rice,

coconut milk, 1.2 litres of water, the

vinegar and lemon juice. Bring to a boil,

then reduce the heat and let it simmer

for 50 minutes with the lid on until the

rice is cooked and the water is absorbed.

Check it every now and again and give

it a stir. You may need to add slightly

more water during cooking, as the water

can be absorbed at di erent speeds

depending on the shape of your pan

and the heat under it.

3 When the 50 minutes is up, take

the lid o the risotto, add the zucchini,

stir through and cook for 5 minutes.

Throw in the defrosted peas and stir

through again, cook for another 5

minutes, then take o the heat.

4 While the zucchini and peas are

warming in the risotto, make the pea

mix; place all the ingredients into a

blender, season and blend until smooth.

5 Stir the pea mix through the risotto,

sprinkle with the mint and serve.

Pea, zucchini & coconut risotto

SERVES Š V DF

Cooking the rice in coconut

milk gives it a more traditional

risotto texture, while stirring

in a creamy blend of puréed

peas with lemon juice and

olive oil gives the fi nished dish

extra fl avour and thickness.

HIT LIST

Cookbook author and

creator of food blog

deliciouslyella.com,

Ella Mills, lets

us in on her fave

ingredients to cook

with during winter

1 

A rack of herbs and

spices: I always have things

like cumin, paprika, turmeric,

cayenne, curry powder, ginger and

cinnamon, as these instantly add

depth and fl avour to any meal.

2 

Peanut butter/almond

butter: I am obsessed with

both and eat them out of the

jar by the spoonful most days.

They’re also fantastic in dressings,

smoothies, breakfasts and desserts.

3 

Oats: They’re such a simple,

inexpensive ingredient and

I often use them for porridge,

breakfast bars, muesli, cookies,

fl apjacks and lots of other baking.

4 

Brown rice (short-grain)

and quinoa: These are my

staples for savoury meals. In winter

I’ll use them to make risottos, as the

base of a veggie bowl or on the side

of a spiced curry or stew.

5 

Tins of beans and lentils:

I use these to make hummus,

bean chillies (chickpea chilli is

one of my favourite dishes at the

moment), baked beans and stirred

into curries and stews. They’re

fi lling, cheap and delicious.

creator of food blog

womensfitness.com.au womensfitnessaustralia @womensfitnessmag @womensfitnessau 93

EatFIT

PHOTOGRAPHY

CLARE WINFIELD ; SOPHIA SPRING