Green Vegan Chicken Risotto

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 3 large garlic cloves, finely crushed
• 300g brown arborio risotto rice
• 1l vegetable stock
• 200g frozen peas
• 50g baby spinach
• 15g fresh basil, roughly chopped
• 200g soya chicken-style pieces
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• for the gremolata:
• 15g fresh basil, finely chopped
• 15g fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 20g walnuts, finely chopped
• 1 small garlic clove, finely chopped

Preparation

1. heat the oil in a large, high-sided frying pan over a medium heat. add the onion and fry for 8-10 mins, stirring occasionally, until softened. add the garlic and cook for 1 min. mix in the risotto rice, then gradually add the stock, stirring frequently and allowing the rice to absorb the liquid fully between each addition, until the rice is al dente and coated in a glossy sauce. this should take 15-20 mins. add a splash of boiling water if it becomes too thick.
2. meanwhile, bring a small pan of water to the boil, add the peas, bring back up to the boil and simmer for 2 mins. add the spinach and basil to the pan and cook until just wilted. drain, return to the pan and blitz with a stick blender until smooth.
3. mix all the gremolata ingredients together and season with a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper.
4. when the risotto is cooked, stir through the pea purée, chicken-style pieces, lemon zest and juice and cook for 2 mins to heat through. season to taste with freshly ground black pepper and sprinkled with the gremolata to serve.