Ingredients:

• 1 bunch celery stalks
• 1 red onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 zucchini (courgette)
• Fresh basil
• 150g Risotto rice
• 1 ball Buffalo Mozzarella
• 25g grated Italian cheese (e.g., Parmesan)
• 600 ml vegetable broth (prepared from water and bouillon cube/powder)

Step 1

🥗 Chop Vegetables

• Finely chop the red onion. Press or finely chop the garlic.
• Cut the celery stalks in half lengthwise and then dice. Cut the zucchini into 2 cm cubes. Pick the leaves from the basil sprigs, reserve the sprigs, and chop the leaves finely. Prepare the broth and add the basil sprigs to it (see Tip).

TIP: Watching your salt intake? Use half the amount of the required bouillon cube.

Step 2

🧈 Sauté

• Heat the butter in a wok or sauté pan and sauté the red onion, garlic, and celery for 5 minutes over medium-high heat. Turn the heat to low, add the risotto rice and toast, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
• Remove the basil sprigs from the broth and add ½ of the broth to the rice. Let the rice grains absorb the broth slowly. Stir regularly.

Step 3

🍚 Finish the Risotto

• Once the broth has been absorbed by the grains, add another ½ of the broth, and let the risotto slowly absorb the broth again. Add the zucchini and the remaining broth to the risotto.
• The risotto is cooked when the grain is soft on the outside but still has a slight bite on the inside (al dente). This takes about 20 - 25 minutes. Add extra water if necessary if the risotto becomes too dry (see Tip).

TIP: The amount of liquid needed to cook the risotto depends heavily on the size of your pan. Therefore, taste it occasionally and add more water or broth if necessary.

Step 4

🧀 Tear Mozzarella

• Meanwhile, tear the buffalo mozzarella into small pieces.

Step 5

🧂 Season to Taste

• Take the pan off the heat. Stir the mozzarella and half of the chopped basil into the risotto. Season the risotto with salt and pepper to taste, if needed.

Step 6

🍽 Serve

• Divide the risotto among plates and garnish with the remaining chopped basil and the grated Italian cheese.

🧑🏼‍🍳 Enjoy your meal