TRAFFIC LIGHT RISOTTO

Adapted from a recipe in Tamara Milstein's fabulous book Risotto 'round the world published by R&R Publishing Pty Ltd in 1996.

Now this one is simply and just bloody brilliant ... and my version is gluten free and low in lactose.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of garlic infused olive oil

1 large red capsicum

1 large yellow capsicum

1 large green capsicum

1 punnet of cherry tomatoes

500g arborio rice

1 cup of cheap white wine

1250ml of vegetable stock

3 tablespoons of lactose free sour cream

1 handful (technical term) of shaved Parmesan cheese (generally low lactose but can be replaced with a lactose-free cheese if preferred)

Handful chopped parsley

1. Grab you capsicums, chop off the end with the stalk, clean out the seedy guts (over a bin). Then simply chop into strips.

2. Take half a punnet of tomatoes and chop them in half and leave to the side.

3. Pour the garlic-infused olive oil into your pan. I actually use a wok, but a saucepan or frypan will do the job. Heat up on a highish for a couple of minutes.

4. Add the capsicum and fry up for 4 or 5 minutes.

5. Add the arborio rice. I just take an estimated half a 1kg pack. Near enough is good enough for me. Stir for a minute or so until all the rice has a nice oily coat.

6. Add the wine in two shots. A cheap wine is good, but a good cheap wine is better. Gossips Sauvignon Blanc cost me five bucks and my wife found it tasty enough to have glass while watching some appalling American soapie on Netflix. Stir regularly until it is absorbed.

7. Then start stirring in the stock (Massella's vegetable stock is perfect as it is gluten free and lactose free). Stir in about a cup at a time (no need for exact measurements) but remember to keep stirring. It's good exercise and prevents your meal getting stuck on the bottom of the pan.

8. When you've stirred about half of the stock, toss in your chopped cherry tomatoes that were set aside.

9. Stir in the rest of the stock until all it is absorbed.

9. At this stage your risotto should be quite soft (not crunchy at all) but if it isn't just stir in a cup of water until it is absorbed and your rice should be perfect.

10. Lower the heat and add in the half punnet of whole cherry tomatoes and stir in thoroughly.

11. Lower the heat and stir in the lactose free sour cream and parmesan cheese.

12. Serve with a sprinkle of parsley leaves.

TIP: This delicious risotto is fabulous as a bed for chicken or vegetable kebabs. Yum.