Courgette (Zucchini) and Basil Risotto

It's been a long time since I've cooked a proper risotto, as I never buy risotto rice and usually substitute for normal rice (which gives a very different consistency). I came across this recipe in one of my many vegetarian cookbooks and felt like giving it a try. I was worried about the difficulty of making risotto and of having to stir it constantly for 20 minutes, but I found this wasn't necessary and I simply stirred it every few minutes whilst doing other things in the kitchen, and the consistency turned out lovely and creamy. The recipe itself called for dry vermouth, but I didn't have any vermouth or dry white wine (which you could substitute for) so I used half the amount in gin and it turned out well.

Ingredients:

3-4 courgettes
1 yellow pepper
3 garlic cloves
1 large onion
400g arborio (risotto) rice
4 tbsp dry vermouth/white wine or 2 tbsp gin
1.5 litres/2 pints vegetable stock/bouillon
1-2 tbsp unsalted butter (optional; omit if calorie conscious)
dried basil/fresh torn basil leaves
70g strong flavoured cheese (e.g. mature cheddar or Parmesan style cheese)

Instructions:

1. Chop onions and garlic and fry on a medium heat until soft.

2. Add the risotto rice to the pan and fry for a couple of minutes until translucent.

3. Add the vermouth/wine/gin and stir through, cooking until reduced.

4. Add the stock a ladelful at a time, stirring after each addition. You don't have to stir constantly, but keep an eye on it and stir every couple of minutes. Once the stock has been absorbed, add another ladelful.

5. Meanwhile, chop the courgette and pepper into cubes and fry with dried basil in butter/oil in a seperate pan, for 5 minutes until softened. Take off the heat once done (you don't want to overcook as this will make the courgette mushy).

6. Once you have added all the stock to the risotto rice and it's been absorbed, add the courgette mix (and juices) along with the butter, cheese and fresh basil (if using) and stir through until the cheese has melted. Season with salt and pepper as desired and serve, adding extra cheese if desired.