Risotto with fennel and courgette

I used to make a sausage version of this (and sometimes still do) but I've gone semi-vegetarian over the last few years so one of the key flavourings in the sausage version (fennel) gradually took centre stage. I often do variations on this - leaving out the fennel altogether, throwing in some peas or plenty of fresh basil, squeezing some lemon juice into it... A good recipe should have a method at its core, and the details should provide one way of implementing this. I'm always in favour of simplifying recipes where possible and also of taking advantage of whatever may be available - in your fridge or the local shops.


Ingredients
100g butter
1 fennel bulb
1 courgette
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp salt
300g arborio rice
900 ml of boiling water
1 vegetable stock cube
freshly ground black pepper
freshly grated Parmesan

Method

1. Roughly chop the fennel bulb, slice the courgette, finely chop the garlic
2. Dissolve the stock cube in the boiling water
3. Put 50 g of the butter, the fennel, courgette, garlic and salt into a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan and fry gently for about 10 minutes, until the fennel and courgette have softened.
4. Add the rice and stir thoroughly.
5. Add a few ladlefuls of the stockwater to the rice, and stir gently until the liquid is almost absorbed.
6. On a low heat, add the rest of the stock, a ladleful at a time, stirring while you cook, until the rice is tender but not mushy. (This should take about 30 minutes).
7. Remove from heat, add the remaining butter, stir well, cover and leave to sit for 2 minutes. Serve sprinkled with black pepper and Parmesan.