Ahhh comfort food. It might just be my most favorite kind of food. I’m sure many of you (at least 99% of you I’m sure) would agree. Especially at this time of year when its freezing outside and you wish that humans would learn to hibernate like all those smart animals out there. #BearLyf 4Eva.
But since we do not hibernate, comfort food will have to do. And can you think of any food that is more comforting than a big bowl of creamy mushroom risotto? Okay, no need to get smart. Of course there are other comforting dishes out there… BUT creamy risotto does a dang good of comforting your winter-weary bod.
Now, full disclosure here. I used to be one of those heathens who hated every kind of creamy Italian food. Carbonara, creamy risotto… BLEH! I was all about those sweet, sweet tomato-based dishes. And I still am, of course. But I have since learnt how wrong younger me had been. Creamy Italian food is H-E-A-V-E-N-L-Y.
This risotto is pretty glorious, and it truly breaks my heart that technically it should serve 4 people. If I had my way, it would serve just 2 people. Or maybe 1. Serving sizes be damned!
It’s creamy, earthy and loaded with the goodness of lots of greens. You gotta balance out all that richness after all. Quick note, while you’re making it, be sure to keep a watch on it and stir it on the regular – the rice can stick to the bottom of the pan pretty quickly. While it may be a wee bit needy, it’s definitely worth the effort.
Give it a go and let me know how you got on in the comments!
Vegan Mushroom & Greens Risotto
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 tbsp Vegan Butter
3 Shallots – finely diced
4 Garlic Cloves – minced
2 sprigs of Fresh Thyme Leaves
200g Chestnut or Button Mushrooms – sliced
200g Arborio Rice – uncooked
1/2 cup Dry White Wine
1L Vegetable Stock
100g Asparagus – chopped into 1-2 inch pieces
100g Frozen Peas
100g Baby Spinach Spinach
2 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
50g Vegan Parmesan – grated
Salt and Pepper
Method
- To a large saucepan, add the vegan butter over medium heat. Once melted, add garlic, shallots, and thyme leaves. Cook until shallots are softened and fragrant – about 5 minutes.
- To the onions, add mushrooms and cook for a further couple of minutes.
- Add arborio rice and toast for a minute before pouring in the white wine. Cook until the wine has almost completely dissolved.
- Pour in 250ml of the vegetable stock and leave until it has been almost completely absorbed. At this point, add another 250ml of stock and repeat until all the stock has been added. Stir constantly to stop the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- When you pour in the last 250ml of stock, add the asparagus and frozen peas at the same time.
- Once all the stock has evaportated, remove from the heat and mix in the spinach, nutritional yeast, and vegan parmesan cheese. Combine everything well.
- Season with salt and pepper as desired and then serve with some fresh parsley or a sprinkling of fresh thyme leaves.
Ready for Pinning!
