This veggie-filled risotto is vegan comfort food at its best
I love risotto. For me, it's always worth the effort of standing over the stove and stirring for 30-plus minutes just to get it super creamy.
That said, most risotto recipes use tons of butter and Parmesan cheese, which is of course not vegan-friendly. But I find using vegan butter to soften the shallots and toast the rice, and substituting vegan Parm works just great. As for the stock, try to go for homemade, as it cuts down the sodium content.
There are lots of veggie options for your base, including asparagus, peas, all sorts of mushrooms, plus more. You can rotate which veggies you choose depending on the season, or by what you’ve got in the crisper that needs to be eaten up.
Christine McAvoy
INGREDIENTS
- 2/3 cup Arborio rice
- 1 large shallot, minced
- 2 1/2 cups of vegetable (or mushroom) stock
- 1/2 cup dry white wine (be sure it’s vegan)
- 4 tbsp vegan butter (divided)
- 1 tbsp parsley, chopped
- 2 to 3 tbsp of vegan Parmesan
- 1/2 cup veggies, chopped asparagus and/or mushrooms, and/or peas
- Salt to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a small pot, heat the vegetable stock until warm, but not boiling. Simmer.
- Dice the veggies into bite-sized pieces. (I used just the tips of the asparagus and used the stems for a sheet-pan dinner.)
- In a heavy-bottom pot on medium, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of vegan butter until melted, then add the minced shallot. Cook for a few minutes until soft but not brown. Then add the rice and toast for a minute, turning the heat up to medium-high.
- Add the white wine, and turn heat back down to medium. Stir constantly until the wine has mostly evaporated.
- Start adding a 1/2 cup of broth at a time, stirring constantly until it is fully absorbed, then repeat. When you've almost run out of broth, taste the risotto to test doneness. If you add too much broth, it will become mushy—you want just the right texture. You can also add salt while you’re tasting it, a small amount at a time.
- While the risotto is bubbling, cook the veggies that need to be softened (i.e. asparagus and mushrooms) in a small pan in vegan butter before incorporating into the risotto. Frozen peas won’t take very long to cook/thaw, so you can toss those in right at the end of the process.
- When risotto is ready, add in the veggies and the vegan Parmesan, plus more vegan butter if needed. Add salt to taste, and most of the parsley, but save a small amount for garnish when the risotto is plated. Buon appetito!
Makes 1 large bowl, or two side dishes; double everything to serve two as mains