
Ingredients
- 1 large bulb of fennel sliced into 1 cm pieces (remove stalky bits and fronds) – set aside the fronds for garnishing
- 1 head of garlic
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 400g risotto rice
- 250ml of white wine- room temperature
- 1.1 litres filtered water
- 4 tsp of Urban Forager Vegetable Stock Concentrate
- 2 sticks of celery- finely diced
- 1 large brown onion- finely diced
- 3 star anise
- 50g mascarpone (or cashew cream)
- 50g finely grated parmesan (or nutritional yeast)
- 50g butter
- Oil of your choice


Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Place the fennel in a roasting pan and the head of garlic on a separate oven tray
- Drizzle both with a little oil, salt and pepper- add the sprigs of thyme to the the fennel
- Place both the fennel and the garlic in the middle shelf of the oven for around 60 mins or until soft, the fennel should be a bit caramelized and golden
- Heat the filtered water
- In a separate large pan heat the oil, add the star anise, onions and celery. Fry on a low heat for about 4 minutes or until the vegetables have softened
- Add the Urban Forager Stock Concentrate and squeeze in the lovely sticky roasted garlic, discard the skins
- Stir and cook for a further 30 seconds. Add the uncooked rice and turn up the heat
- Stir and continue to fry until the rice looks slightly translucent (about a minute)
- Add the wine and continue stirring until the harsh alcohol smell has evaporated and the wine has cooked into the the rice
- Add the first ladle of hot water and turn down the heat to a high simmer
- As the liquid becomes absorbed – continue to add ladles of water to the pan
- Make sure each ladleful is absorbed before adding the next one
- Add the roasted fennel (chop roughly before adding to the risotto if the pieces are bit large)
- The rice should take around 15-20 mins to cook. Taste the rice- it should be soft with a little bite to it
- Season if needed by adding more Urban Forager Stock Concentrate
- Remove pan from the heat and take out the star anise. Add the mascarpone, parmesan and butter
- Place a lid on the pan and allow to sit for a couple of minutes. Garnish with the fennel fronds and serve with a garden salad.
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