Ham and mushroom risotto

We weren't going to have this for tea at all, but the chicken that I defrosted smelled hideous, and went straight in the bin.

You'll need:

risotto rice: Nigel Slater says 250g for two greedy people, and that usually feeds the three of us, and leaves some over for lunch the next day
an onion, finely chopped
a clove of garlic, ditto
mushrooms, chopped very finely (I did them in the food processor today, because I managed to slice into my thumb while chopping the onion, and had had enough by that point)
some ham, chopped up
a splash or two of worcestershire sauce
lots of black pepper, a little salt, a little thyme
stock (or indeed, just some water with a stock cube in it)

Fry the onion and garlic in some olive oil or butter until they're translucent. Add the ham and mushrooms, and cook until they're softened. Chuck in the risotto rice, and stir round in the butter/oil for 20 seconds or so until it's all coated. Add the herbs, worcestershire sauce, and a splosh of stock (to just cover the rice).

Start the simmering process. You want each splosh of stock to be absorbed before you add the next one. Keep popping back every 5-8 minutes to give the rice a stir and throw in a bit more stock (playing with the cars and train set is a very good thing to do in between, we discovered today).

It took about half an hour today for the rice to be ready - it becomes beautifully soft and velvety. I sometimes think that eating risotto is like curling up in an enormous duvet.