Recipe: Creamy Greeny Risotto Featuring Courgette, Spinach and Peas

One of the most rewarding things to create from the half finished veg in your fridge and a few freezer favourites has to be risotto! You can make as much or as little as you like from just a few staple ingredients - just be sure to always keep a box of risotto rice and a bunch of emergency stock cubes in the larder.

You know it's going to be good when there's a glass of wine in the centre!

Feeds: 4 (this is a great one for your work lunch box)

Time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves
1 chopped onion
1 small glass white wine
300g risotto rice

1 grated courgette
Approx 1 litre hot veg stock

A small bowl of peas
A huge bunch of spinach (don't forget it wilts to nothing)

A good grinding of salt and pepper 

2 tbsp creme fraiche
1 tsp dijon mustard
20g parmesan (or veggie friendly alternative)

Method:

Put a sauté pan on a medium heat and melt the butter and oil with the crushed garlic. Add the onion and fry to soften, then turn up the heat and add the wine and risotto rice. Bubble like this for a couple of minutes and reduce back to medium heat. Now add the courgette and a ladle of the stock. Wait for the stock to reduce and soak into the rice before adding the next ladle-full. Keep going like this until you've used up nearly all of the stock and the rice is starting to feel tender (this should take about 20-25 minutes). Now add the peas and spinach and the rest of the stock and cook for another few minutes.

Take it off the heat because now it's time for the best bit: add a couple of tablespoons of creme fraiche (or more if you like it extra creamy!) and a dollop of mustard. Give it a good dusting with the salt and pepper and stir it all together. Add a handful of the parmesan to the pan and stir.

Plate it up generously, give it a sprinkling of lemon and some extra virgin olive oil if you fancy and then finish with the rest of the parmesan. Pour yourself a glass of white, relax and enjoy!

Creamy, dreamy risotto..

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5 Tips For A Cheaper Stay In Gothenburg

It's widely known that Scandinavia is an expensive place to holiday but it doesn't have to be. Even by choosing to visit Gothenburg you're on the right track; it's a cheaper choice than popular Stockholm and has beautiful coast lines and plenty of attractions to keep you busy for weeks. Follow some of our tips below and you might even return home with some of your holiday money!

5 tips for a cheaper stay in Gothenburg:

1. Take advantage of the lunch menu - Swedes usually have a cooked meal at lunch and so many restaurants offer a very well priced lunch menu which typically consists of 3 or 4 choices (meat, fish, veggie/vegan) a salad buffet, bread, tea / coffee and sometimes dessert all for around 100sek. Fill yourself up at lunch and grab something smaller for dinner!

Lux Deli Lunch from En Deli in Haga. Includes all items from deli counter plus soup, bread, coffee and water.

2. Don't order an alcoholic drink (or several) with every meal. Alcohol in Sweden is expensive and controlled by the government which means you won't find any discounted drinks. You may be able to find places offering "after work" deals which typically consist of an evening buffet with a glass of beer or wine included; really what you're getting is free food. A glass of wine is normally about 75sek so an extra 20sek for dinner seems like a pretty good deal!

A light dinner at Open New Doors on Tyska Bron. Here we've opted for locally made apple juice instead of a cider!

3. Visit the archipelago or take the boat across the harbour - these journeys are included in your city travel ticket. Take the 11 tram all the way to Saltholmen and then pick up one of the ferries from the harbour. If you don't fancy taking a walk around any of the islands then you can always sit on the ferry and just enjoy the sights. If it's a hot day you can take a dip in the beautiful clear water around the islands and dry off on the rocks with the Swedes.

Somewhere to dip your toes by the Styrsö Skäret ferry port on one of the largest archipelago islands.

Swedes soaking up the sun on the rocks.

4. The main part of the city is relatively small to walk around so if you are using a pay as you go pass, try to limit the amount of times you use public transport. You'll see a lot of hidden gems by walking everywhere too!

Domkyrkan, a not so hidden gem but easy to stumble upon during a walk around the centre.

5. Take a midweek break. You can get incredibly cheap flights with Ryannair from London Stansted to Gothenburg from Tuesday to Thursday. You'll also find meals are cheaper during the week and you'll avoid the weekend queues for attractions.

Liseberg, a top attraction when visiting Gothenburg. An adventure park full of rides, bars, restaurants and shops. You can often catch an open air concert there too so it's worth checking the website to see what's on.


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