Monday, March 2, 2009

Vegetable and Bean Risotto (Better home and G)

This was good for a variety dish. I think I like the risotto here at this link a bit better: http://nannykimsrecipes.blogspot.com/2008/05/vegtable-risotto.html However the one pictured here does have beans--I used pinto, but think I would prefer the cannellini beans (which are sometimes hard to find here!).

Ingredients

3 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth (adding a bit of dry wine is good with this too)
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup arborio rice (I used basamati)
1 cup finely chopped zucchini
1 cup finely chopped carrots
1 15-ounce can white kidney (cannellini) beans or pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons snipped fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley (I also added a few bunches of spinach)
Finely shredded Parmesan cheese (optional) (I used nutritional yeast instead)
1/2-1 teaspoon of dried Thyme (my addition)

Directions
1. In a medium saucepan bring broth to boiling. Reduce heat; simmer until needed. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan cook mushrooms, onion, and garlic in hot oil over medium heat about 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Add uncooked rice. Cook and stir about 5 minutes more or until rice is golden brown.

2. Slowly add 1 cup of the broth to the rice mixture, stirring constantly. Continue to cook and stir until liquid is absorbed. Add another 1/2 cup of the broth, the zucchini, and carrots to rice mixture, stirring constantly. Continue to cook and stir until liquid is absorbed. Add another 1 cup broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until the broth is absorbed. (This should take about 20 minutes.)

3. Stir the remaining 1/2 cup broth into rice mixture. Add Thyme. Cook and stir until rice is slightly creamy and just tender. Stir in beans and spinach and Parmesan cheese (or nutritional yeast); heat through. Sprinkle with parsley and additional cheese, if desired. Soy sauce is also good when serving.

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