Risotto con zucchine

My incredibly basic knowledge of Italian means that every meal comes as a surprise to me. I can vaguely figure out that my Nona is kindly explaining what we're cooking, but aside from 'stir this' or 'more of that' or 'chop that', I am never 100% sure I've understood. Today started off by grating a courgette (zucchine) and I could make out that we were cooking it with rice. I should have guessed really... of course it was risotto!

Although that wasn't entirely how my day started off, first task was to find my way home having dropped the daughter of my hostess of at school - on day 2 this in itself is a challenge. My Nona kindly slipped a piece of paper in my pocket with a quickly scribbled address of our house, so that I could just hold it up and say "where?" (dove?) if necessary. I am proud to say it was not, though I made it home following the coloured flags I recognised from the weekend's festival - one day I fear they'll be taken down and I really will need my little SOS note.

So here's the recipe... serves 3

4-5 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 an onion, finely sliced
1 courgette, grated
1 basil stalk
180g risotto rice
A small sprinkling from a stock cube
Water, simmering
A knob of butter
Salt, pepper and parmesan to taste

1. Add 2-3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil to a large frying pan (on a low heat) with the garlic and half the onion.
2. Heat until the oil is hot, then add the courgette. Cook for about 20-30 mins on a low heat, stirring occasionally. Set aside once cooked and stir in the stock (about a pinch)
3. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil with the rest of the onion (on a low heat).
4. Cook for 2-3 mins then add the rice and cook for a further 2-3 mins, stirring regularly.
5. Keep stirring and add water little by little for about 20-30 minutes until the rice is soft and creamy.
6. At this point, add the courgette mixture and the butter and cook for a further couple of minutes.
7. Serve with parmesan, salt and/or pepper as desired...

... This recipe contains a lot less salt that most Italian recipes - my hostess is a yoga teacher and very health conscious (a big relief for my waist line!) so not much salt is used. I personally would add a little salt along with the stock and then I would dress it with extra virgin olive oil once served - but apparently adding olive oil at this point isn't very Italian, my hostess suggested that it would be too greasy having already added butter at the last stage in the cooking. Having said that, the rest of the dinner table went on to add lots of parmesan, so I would imagine you could add less parmesan and a little oil if you fancy... to be honest, if you're in your own home with no concerns on pleasing your hosts, eat it with as much oil and salt as you wish.