Risotto is one of those dishes that people order in a restaurant, but rarely make at home. And of course classic risotto is laced with butter, cheese and oil, not the healthiest and not for vegans for sure.
This recipe is for a really tasty risotto that you can make and serve for dinner, everyone will like it even non-vegans 😉 This is not the traditional way to make a risotto, this simply my Sunday evening improvisation when I want a hearty dinner, without the bad stuff that makes you feel like you need a nap afterwards!
If you prefer an even creamier dish feel free to use oil and vegan butter to add some richness, I didn’t add any it was really satisfying with just the ‘parmesan’ sprinkled on top.
This recipe serves four
Ingredients
225g Arborio rice
225g mushrooms of choice (Mince 170g, slice the reminder to add for texture)
2 small onions (200g) minced
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 tsp oregano
70g baby spinach roughly chopped
A handful of petit pois/sweetcorn (I had some already cooked I added them for colour, totally optional)
1 veggie stock cube dissolved in 1.2 litres of hot water
Extra water for sautéing/oil if preferred
For the Parmesan
10g of nuts of choice – I used walnuts and brazil nuts, macadamias would be good too
3g of gluten free oats (optional I just added them for crunch)
10g of nutritional yeast
Method
Sauté the onions in water/oil until translucent but not browned on a medium heat
Add the minced mushrooms, cover with a lid to allow the juices to come out, this also helps act in place of oil
Add the garlic, stirring to prevent sticking
After 5 minutes or when the mushrooms have cooked down add the rice and cook for 3 minutes until the edges of the grains start to turn translucent
Pour in the stock, I added 500ml first, covered with a lid and left to simmer on a low to medium heat for 7 minutes, stirring regularly
When this stock is nearly absorbed add another 500ml, again cover and leave to simmer, for another 10 minuts, stirring regularly to prevent sticking
When the rice has become sticky and the stock is absorbed, add the sliced mushrooms, chopped spinach, peas/sweetcorn, and final 200ml of stock, cover and allow the spinach and mushrooms to cook
For the vegan parmesan simply throw the ingredients into a food processor on high speed until a fine crumb forms, add salt to taste
Serve a generous portion of the risotto sprinkled with the vegan parmesan, with some rocket and vine tomatoes tossed in balsamic , vegan cooking is so simple and your body (and the planet) will thank you!
