Butternut Squash & Crispy Sage Risotto
This risotto is the best bowl of comfort food perfect for chilli autumn evenings. It’s super easy to make and it’s making the most of seasonal squashes or pumpkins. Please don’t skip on the crispy sage as it really adds tons of flavour and a lovely crunchy texture.
Serves 2-3 people
Ingredients:
1 small white onion or 1/2 of a very large one – very finely chopped (I have blitzed it in my food processor to save some tears and because I am not very good at chopping)
1/2 of a butternut squash – peeled, deseeded and chopped into small cubes
2 cloves of garlic – crushed
About 1 litre of veggie stock
1 teaspoon of brown miso paste
1 cup of risotto rice (you can also use brown rice but risotto rice helps massively to have a creamy and gloppy consistency)
3-4 tablespoons of nutritional yeast ( or even more, in my books the more nutritional yeast, the better!) + extra for sprinkling
A glug of olive oil for frying
Salt & pepper to taste
For the crispy sage:
A small handful of sage leaves
A glug of oil for frying
Place the finely diced onion in a pan with the glug of olive oil. Saute the onion on a medium heat until it starts to soften and becomes translucent. Add in the crushed garlic, cook for another minute and keep stirring to prevent from burning. Add in the chopped butternut squash and the rice. Add in the miso paste. Pour in some veggie stock until the rice is covered and place the lid on. Cook on a medium heat for a total of 25-30 minutes (it also depends on what kind of rice you are using). The key with risotto is to keep stirring from time to time and keep adding the veggie stock and equally some of the porcini mushrooms soaking water. The rice will gradually absorbed the liquid and eventually one it’s cooked it will be quite gloppy (kind of like porridge). Once the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is cooked adjust with salt & pepper and add in the nutritional yeast. Switch off the heat and let the risotto rest for few minutes. Please feel free to stir in some vegan cheese if you fancy!
For the crispy sage simply add a glut of oil to a pan and once hot add in the sage leaves. Cook for only few minutes until very crispy. Serve them with the risotto.
Porcini Mushroom Risotto
This is such a comforting bowl, perfect for chilli winter days. I made this for my carnivore boyfriend today in the attempt to showing that eating plants can be really delicious. Well, it was a success! He really loved it and I have to admit it was really delicious! The dried porcini mushrooms are super flavoursome and really “meaty” adding a lovely rich flavour to the dish.
Serves 2-3 people
Ingredients:
1 small white onion or 1/2 of a very large one – very finely chopped (I have blitzed it in my food processor to save some tears and because I am not very good at chopping)
2 cloves of garlic – crushed
About 150gr of chestnut mushrooms – sliced
1/2 cup of dried porcini – soaked in some warm water for at least 1 hour (don’t discard the water!)
About 1 litre of veggie stock
1 teaspoon of brown miso paste
1 cup of risotto rice (you can also use brown rice but risotto rice helps massively to have a creamy and gloppy consistency, sometimes I also like to switch things up and use barley istead)
3-4 tablespoons of nutritional yeast ( or even more, in my books the more nutritional yeast, the better!) + extra for sprinkling
A glug of olive oil for frying
Salt & pepper to taste
Optional – I like to top it with some extra mushrooms panfried in Tamari, you don’t have to but if want to go the extra mile here is how:
About 5-6 chestnut mushrooms
A generous splash of Tamari or soy sauce
Place the finely diced onion in a pan with the glug of olive oil. Saute the onion on a medium heat until it starts to soften and becomes translucent. Add in the crushed garlic, cook for another minute and keep stirring to prevent from burning. Add in the chopped mushrooms and the rice. Drain and squeeze the dried porcini reserving the water. Roughly chopped the porcini and add them to the pan. Add in the miso paste. Pour in some veggie stock until the rice is covered and place the lid on. Cook on a medium heat for a total of 25-30 minutes (it also depends on what kind of rice you are using). The key with risotto is to keep stirring from time to time and keep adding the veggie stock and equally some of the porcini mushrooms soaking water. The rice will gradually absorbed the liquid and eventually one it’s cooked it will be quite gloppy (kind of like porridge). Once the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is cooked adjust with salt & pepper and add in the nutritional yeast. Switch off the heat and let the risotto rest for few minutes. Please feel free to stir in some vegan cheese if you fancy!
To make the Tamari mushrooms simply heat up a generous glug of olive oil in a frying pan then add the mushrooms into a pan with a splash of Tamari. Cook the mushrooms for about 10 minutes until soft.
Serve the risotto with the mushrooms on top, nutritional yeast and some fresh thyme leaves (optional)
Golden Tomato Risotto
Risotto got my heart, even in summer! We have been so lucky this year to have had so many tomatoes in our London garden that I have just been feasting on them non stop! This risotto is creamy, decadent but with a lovely fresh flavour from the tomatoes which makes it perfect for this time of the year. I have used yellow cherry tomatoes as we have so many in the garden and I love the gorgeous golden colour, but you can use regular cherry tomatoes too!
Ingredients:
Serves 2-3 people
1 white onion – peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves – crushed
300gr of good quality yellow and red cherry tomatoes (if you can’t find yellow regular red cherry tomatoes will be totally fine) – sliced in half
About 1 litre of veggie stock
1 cup of arborio risotto rice
A small handful of fresh oregano leaves
Salt & pepper to taste
A drizzle of olive oil
Optional: 2-3 tbsp of nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavour
Optional slow roasted tomatoes to add on top (highly recommended!)
200gr of cherry tomatoes
A drizzle of olive oil
Salt & pepper
Start by making the slow roasted tomatoes. Preheat the oven at 150 degrees Celsius fan. Slice the tomatoes in halves and place them on a large baking tray with the inside part facing up. Generously drizzle them with some olive oil, a pinch of salt and pepper. Roast them for 35-40 minutes.
Add a drizzle of olive oil to a large pan. Add in the onion and gently sauté it on a medium heat for 5 minutes until the onion is translucent and caramelised. Add in the garlic and cook for another minute stirring continuously to prevent from burning. Add in the risotto rice and cook for 1 minute of so, then add in the tomatoes and give it a good mix. Pour in some of the stock until everything is covered. Put the lid on and turn the heat down to medium/low. Cook the risotto for a total of 25-30 minutes. Risotto is a bit like a labour of love so you need to make sure to stir it from time to time and as the stock gets absorbed add more in until you use it all. At the end add the oregano leaves, nutritional yeast (if using) and a crack of black pepper and mix everything together. Serve it with the slow roasted tomatoes on top and enjoy!