This meal was based on the idea of a pea and prawn risotto, with king oyster mus

This meal was based on the idea of a pea and prawn risotto, with king oyster mushroom taking the starring role. When I first made it I went too far and topped it off with sea truffle for some extra fishy pow. It was a bit too much pow if I’m honest (which is for the best as it’s not exactly available at the supermarket)!

The key to getting a good fishy stock for a vegan dish is to use a mix of seaweed and mushrooms, I use kombu, wakame, mushroom stock powder and dried shiitake mushrooms. You can find dried seaweeds in asian food stores, they must be washed first before use.

???? Chop 2 good sized king oyster mushrooms into short sticks, or 1cm cubes. Place in a bowl and cover with just boiled water, a small strip of comb seaweed and a teaspoon of sugar.
???? Make the broth by bringing a large pan of water to the boil with a sheet of kombu, a handful of wakame seaweed, four or five dried shiitake mushrooms, and 1 tbsp of mushroom bouillion. Simmer for at least an hour to get a good flavour from the broth, keep topping up with water if needed.
???? Finely dice 1 large onion, 1 clove of garlic, 2 celery sticks and 1/2 a bulb of fennel. Sweat in a pan with a little salt, and a decent knob of butter for about fifteen minutes until soft and translucent. Add the soaked and drained king oyster mushroom pieces and fry to add a little colour.
????Stir in about 200g of risotto rice and stir well, cook for a couple of minutes in the veg and butter until the edges of the rice look a little translucent. Next add about 75ml of wine on a high heat, cook off the alcohol, reduce the heat and add stock one ladle at a time, stirring the rice until the liquid has been absorbed before adding the next ladle. Keep adding the broth until the rice is plump and soft with a little chew.
???? To finish; add a handful of frozen peas, a couple of tbsp of nutritional yeast, a splash of vegan cream and season to taste.