How to make white bean and lemon risotto with basil pesto

The Italian job: Hang on lads, I’ve got a great idea... let’s mix cannellini beans with mushroom, lemon and pesto for a risotto that’s so fresh, tasty and bursting with goodness, it’s almost a crime

White bean and lemon risotto, recipe from Mindful chef

White bean and lemon risotto with basil pesto

An Italian-style white bean and lemon risotto with spinach, basil pesto and garlic mushrooms. We have sprinkled over mineral-rich pumpkin seeds.

½ lemon
½ vegetable stock cube
180g chestnut mushrooms
1 brown onion
240g cannellini beans (drained)
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp basil pesto
2 tbsp oil
2 tsp pumpkin seeds
40g spinach
80g brown rice

Boil a kettle. Dissolve the vegetable stock cube in a jug with 400ml boiling water. Drain and rinse the cannellini beans. Rinse the brown rice. Finely dice the onion and crush or finely chop the garlic. Thinly slice the mushrooms. Zest the half lemon.

Heat a medium-sized pan with 1 tbsp oil on a medium heat and cook the garlic and onion for 5 mins until softened. Then add the mushrooms and cook for 3 mins.

Add the rice to the pan and stir to coat in the oil. Add the stock to the pan gradually, stirring often and letting each addition be absorbed before you add the next. It should take 25-30 mins for the rice to cook to an al-dente texture. In the last 5 mins of cooking, stir in the cannellini beans, spinach, half of the basil pesto and a generous squeeze of lemon juice.

In a small bowl, mix the remaining basil pesto with 1 tbsp olive oil to get a thinner consistency for drizzling. Spoon the Italian white bean risotto into two warm bowls. Drizzle over the remaining basil pesto and sprinkle over the pumpkin seeds and lemon zest.

Recipe from Mindful Chef (mindfulchef.com)