Green Pepper and Cashew Nut Risotto

I made a Spanish style chicken dish the other day which used red and yellow peppers, so having bought a pack of peppers, I had a green pepper that needed using, we also has some cashew nuts lurking about in the cupboard. I came up with this which was a great success

Enough for 2

Ingredients:

½ tbsp olive oil

1 cup risotto rice, (carnaroli or arborio)

1 green pepper, deseeded and finely sliced

1 banana shallot or ½ onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

50g raw cashew nuts

50g pumpkin seeds

50g frozen sweet corn kernels

50ml extra dry vermouth or dry white wine (optional)

1 litre hot vegetable stock made from 2 Knorr vegetable stock cubes

½ tbsp dark soy sauce

Salt and pepper to taste.

Have the hot stock gently simmering in a pan on an adjacent burner. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the shallot, pepper and garlic and fry gently for about 5minutes until soft . Add the rice and stir for a minute or so to ensure that the grains are coated with oil. Pour in the vermouth or wine and stir until the raw alcohol smell has disappeared and the pan is almost dry. Add a ladleful of the hot stock and keep stirring until it is absorbed by the rice and the rice is releasing its starch. This is what will make the risotto creamy. Add another ladle of stock and repeat the process. Keep doing this until the rice is cooked which will take about 20 minutes in total. About 5 minutes before it is ready, i.e. after 15 minutes of cooking the rice, add the cashew nuts, pumpkin seeds and sweet corn together with the soy sauce. Stir together, cook for the last 5 minutes ( adding more stock if necessary). Check the seasoning and serve. You will probably not need any salt since the soy sauce is very salty.