Shiitake Mushroom Risotto (Anti-inflammatory)

Shiitake Mushroom Risotto

This delicious recipe contains some wonderful ingredients that are major players in the management of rheumatoid arthritis.

Ingredients

Vegetable bouillon

1 red onion

2 cloves of garlic

6 sun-dried tomatoes

1 stick of celery

Extra virgin olive oil

250g (9 oz) Arborio risotto rice

8-9 dried shiitake mushrooms

Dash of white wine

Handful of fresh spinach leaves

Method

1.   Make up 1 litre of stock using the vegetable bouillon – I’d advise about 1 level tablespoon to 1 litre water.

2.   Finely chop the red onion, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and the celery, plus a little salt. Sauté these in a large pan in a little of the olive oil until the onion is soft and becoming transparent.

3.   Next, add the risotto rice to the pan and stir the onion mixture and rice together. Add to this just enough stock to almost cover the rice. Allow this to simmer constantly.

4.   As the stock gets absorbed, keep topping it up until you are left with about 300 ml of stock.

5.   At this point add the shiitake mushrooms. The reason that these are added in so late is to protect their active chemicals which can be damaged if exposed to extremes of temperature for too long.

6.   Continue to cook in the same way – adding stock as the rice absorbs more and more. When all the stock has gone in, add the dash of white wine (maybe 80 ml.) Then allow the whole mix to cook down until the texture is close to a thick oatmeal texture, and the rice is soft. At this point add the spinach as it will wilt in seconds.

To finish, add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to the mix and beat the mix until a creamy texture is reached.