Ever wondered what a Mexican take on an Italian risotto is like? This is the answer, with your five daily portions of veg thrown in as well. It has that lovely creamy/crunch of the rice, with a beautiful, mildly spicy, tomatoey taste. You can serve it in bowls on its own, or put it in tortilla wraps with some salad and guacamole. It’s worth making the full amount, as it is great for lunches the next day. You can get chipotle powder from the Cool Chilli Company, or if you have a spice grinder you could de-seed and blitz a chipotle (or two) and use that instead. Smoked paprika works as well.

250g long grain rice

1 litre vegetable stock or half and half vegetable and chicken stock

small knob of butter

1 tbsp olive oil

2 celery sticks, finely diced

1 carrot, finely diced

1 onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp snipped chives

1 tbsp chopped coriander stalks, (reserve the leaves for garnish)

1 red pepper, de-seeded, and finely diced

2 medium sized tomatoes, skinned, deseeded and finely chopped

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 pinch dried oregano

1 pinch dried epizote

2 teasp chipotle powder or smoked paprika

150g mature Cheddar cheese (we used hard goat’s cheese), grated

Salt

To serve:-

Large handful chopped coriander (see coriander stalks above)

1 tbsp snipped chives

3 avocados, cut into 1cm chunks

Salad leaves

• Rinse the rice in a sieve under cold water until the water runs clear. Drain and set aside

• Place the stock(s) in a medium saucepan with the lid and warm through until nearly boiling. Turn the heat off

• Heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan or non stick wok, then add the celery, carrot, dried herbs and onion and sauté over a medium heat until translucent – about 15 minutes. Add the chives, coriander stalks, red pepper and cook for a further 5 minutes

• Add the drained rice and cook for 2 minutes, stirring all the time so that it gets combined with the vegetables. Then stir in the tomatoes, tomato puree and chipotle powder/smoked paprika. When thoroughly mixed, reduce the heat a little and add three ladles of the hot stock. When the rice has absorbed it, add another couple of ladles, and so on until all the stock has been used and the rice is cooked to al dente – usually 20 to 25 minutes

• Finally add the cheese, and stir well until it's melted, and cook for 5 minutes. Check the seasoning, add more if necessary. Sprinkle with coriander leaves, the avocado chunks and chives and serve immediately