Mid Week Eat: Oven Baked Risotto

It’s easy to eat seasonally with a whole lazy Sunday and 6 hours to roast a joint ahead of you. It’s more difficult when you get in from work late and all you want to do is order a pizza. My Mid-Week-Eats recipes are all quick, really easy and made mostly using ingredients you’ll already have in your cupboards. No trailing round various health food shops to source a weird paste anymore.

What's more autumnal than mushrooms? This oven baked risotto is based on this recipe from BBC Good Food - I've just added a few tweaks at the end to really make the flavours pop.I love this recipe because it has all the lovely stodge and texture of a risotto, without the faff of stirring incessantly at the hob. Just put all the ingredients together and bung it in the oven. Perfect mid week comfort in 35 minutes.Makes 4 portions25g dried porcini mushrooms350g risotto rice1 onion2 cloves of garlic450ml stockLemon juiceThyme

1. Soak the dried porcini in 45ml of hot water for about ten minutes
2. Chop the onion and soften it in an oven-proof dish. After 2 minutes crush the garlic into the pan too.
3. Drain the mushrooms but keep the liquid. Chop the mushrooms into bitesized pieces.
4. Add the mushrooms, mushroom liquid, stock, rice and thyme to the pan. Season.
5. Cover the pan and put it in the oven on a medium heat for 20-30 minutes, or until the rice is cooked and the liquid absorbed.
6. Finish with a good squeeze of lemon juice (about half a lemon) and balsamic to taste (I added about five sploshes)
7. Top with an extras you fancy to serve - chestnut mushrooms, bacon, parmesan...