Vegan Creamy Spring Risotto

2 hungry serves

1 brown onion diced.
half a stick of finely chopped celery.
1 drizzle of garlic olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
2 cloves of finely chopped garlic.
150g Arborio rice
2 Tbsp Dirty International Olive Brine
2 1/4 cups of boiling vegetable stock
1/4 lemon zested and juiced.
1 cup frozen peas
1 -2 cups of fresh spinach
1 Tbsp plant-based butter.
1/2 pack of cream (I used Little Island cashew cream 245ml bottle)
1 Tbsp Nutritional yeast flakes (vegan)
1 bunch of asparagus, snap the ends off.
1/2 pack of vine Campari tomatoes
1 drizzle of garlic olive oil
a handful of sliced almonds
Method
1. Preheat oven to 220 degrees
2. Finely dice the onion, and celery. Heat olive oil in a pot on medium heat. Cook the onions and celery with the salt measure for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add the rice and cook for a further 1 minute, stirring constantly, until fragrant.
3. Add garlic and olive brine and cook for a further minute or so
4. Add vegetable stock measure to the pot and stir well. Reduce heat to low-medium, cover and gently simmer for about 18 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender, and liquid is absorbed. Add a splash more stock or boiling water if needed.
5. Place the asparagus and vine tomatoes on a lined oven tray, drizzle with garlic olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 8 minutes, until tender. Remove the tray from the oven, sprinkle over almonds and cook for a further 2- 4 minutes until veg is cooked and almonds are toasted.
6. Zest the lemon. Once the rice is tender, add the peas, plant-based butter, lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice into the pot. Cook for a further 3 minutes. Remove from the heat add the spinach, 1/2 pack of cashew cream and nutritional yeast and mix through. Season to taste with salt. If the risotto is too thick add a splash of hot water.
7. Plate the risotto topped with veggies and almonds.