Vegan Mushroom Risotto

Put your hand up if you love RISOTTO!

Time: 45mins Serves: 4 people Dietary: Vegan/ Vegetarian Difficulty: Easy

There is nothing nicer than a creamy Risotto. I have been making this recipe for years and it just keeps getting better. Jason and I both love cooking it, not only because it’s the best dinner but we always make enough to eat for lunch the next day, or even to pop into the freezer for next week.

I’ll take you through step by step and teach you few little secrets I’ve learned over the years working and cooking with the most incredible Chefs.

Ingredients:

1 large onion finely chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
200g baby spinach & OR 1cup frozen peas
400g mixed mushrooms finely chopped
2 cups Risotto rice
1-2 cups white wine of choice
6+ cups vegetable stock
1tbsp nutritional yeast OR parmesan cheese (Optional)
Olive oil (or any cooking oil you prefer)
Salt
Black pepper
Chilli flakes & dried sage (optional)

You will need:

A large pot for the Risotto (Take a bigger pot than you may think!)
A pan for the mushrooms
A pot for the stock
A large wooden spoon

Lets get cooking:

First things first, bring a pot of 6+ cups of water to a gentle simmer, add your vegetable stock once the water begins to simmer.
To a large medium heat pot add olive oil, salt and the chopped onion (ALWAYS salt your onions while they cook down, this will prevent them form burning and instead let them release their water & flavour)
Stir occasionally until the onion has cooked down (about 3mins)
In the mean time, chop / mince two garlic cloves
Add garlic, chilli flakes and dried sage to the onion
Cook and stir occasionally for 3mins
While the onions are cooking, chop the mushrooms into small bit size pieces
In a separate pan add your mushrooms with a small drizzle of oil. On low heat cook them down until they are needed
Place your lid over the mushrooms to keep all the water and steam in the pan. (The more water they release the better the flavour at the end)
Once onions are cooked add a generous amount of oil before adding your Risotto rice to the large pot
On medium heat stir and coat the rice fully in the oil for about 2mins
Keep an eye on the rice and keep stirring
When you start to hear a crackle / popping sound it’s time to add your wine (the rice will sizzle in the wine so keep stirring)
Cook the wine down for 1min or so until it has been absorbed and the alcohol has evaporated
Slowly add the vegetable stock to the rice, one cup at a time (Wait for the Risotto to absorb the stock before you add another cup)
KEEP STIRRING (This should be done in a whipping motion, the more you whip the rice the creamier it will be. The creaminess in risotto come from the starch being released from the rice so MORE WHIP = MORE DELICIOUSNESS)
Keep adding stock until the rice has softened, this takes about 15mins (Keep tasting, it should always have a little bite to it and not become mushy)
Time to add your nutritional yeast & mushrooms with all the water they have released into the pan
Cook for a further 5mins or so (Keep tasting, adding stock & whipping)
Once the rice is cooked (al dente) add the fresh spinach into the rice and stir through. (If you would like to add frozen peas, now is your chance)
Season with a squeeze of lemon juice and cheese of your choice.

Extra notes:

Take it to the next level: Add truffle oil when you add the mushrooms
Add an extra cup of stock (it should look too watery) if you’re wanting to freeze it
Whip parmesan cheese into the Risotto 5mins before serving

Bon Appétit!