In a 3-quart saucepan cook celery, shallots or green onions, garlic, and pepper in hot margarine or butter until tender but not brown. Add the uncooked rice. Cook for 2 minutes more.

Carefully stir in broth and water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes (do not lift cover). Remove from heat.

Stir in peas, squash or zucchini, and lemon peel. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Serve immediately. Makes 6 side-dish servings.

Cook celery mixture as directed above; add uncooked rice. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. In a 1-quart saucepan bring broth and water to boiling. Add 3/4 cup of the broth mixture to the rice mixture, stirring constantly over low heat, until rice has absorbed most of the broth. Continue adding the broth, 3/4 cup at a time, stirring constantly until rice is almost tender, but firm to the bite. (It should have a creamy consistency.) This should take about 20 minutes. During cooking, adjust the heat as necessary to keep broth at a gentle simmer. Stir in peas, squash or zucchini, and lemon peel. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

The secret to the creaminess of risotto lies in using Arborio rice and stirring constantly during cooking. However, our Test Kitchen found that using long-grain rice and covering during cooking makes a satisfactory shortcut.