Vegan pumpkin risotto
A non dairy risotto made with pumpkin puree and portobello mushrooms. No milk, cream or cheese added, still super creamy!
Ingredients
- 450 gr pumpkin (peeled and cubed or cut into large slices (or use 300 gr/ 1⅓ cups store bought pumpkin puree)
- 3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (divided)
- 1 large onion (finely chopped)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 320 gr risotto/ Arborio rice
- 150 ml white wine
- 700-750 ml vegetable stock (homemade* or store bought)
- 250 gr portobello mushrooms (cleaned and sliced or cut into chunks)(or other type of mushrooms of choice)(approx. 2 cups)
- 1 handful fresh herbs (sage, thyme, oregano, parsley or a combination)
- ½-1 cup freshly grated (vegan) parmesan (OPTIONAL!)
- sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 360F/180C
- Roast the cubed/sliced pumpkin (skip this step if you are using canned pumpkin puree): After peeling and cutting the pumpkin in strips or cubes, toss them on a baking tray with 1-2 tbsp of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Roast for 25-30 minutes until soft.
- Meanwhile heat up 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large saucepan or soup pot over medium heat and sautée the onion in it. until translucent. Then add the garlic for 1 minute.
- Now add the arborio rice to the pot and allow it to cook dry for about 1 minute. Then add the white wine to it and let cook until most of the liquid is evaporated. Then slowly add the stock one ladle-full at a time and stir occasionally until fully absorbed before adding more. This takes 20-30 minutes.
- In the meantime quickly sautée the portobello mushrooms in a skillet with some vegan butter or olive oil. Set them aside until the risotto is nearly ready.
- As the risotto is nearing completion, check on the pumpkin in the oven. It should be soft and fully cooked. Puree it in a food processor or with a submergible blender.
- Taste the risotto. If all the stock has been absorbed and it is still too al dente and crunchy, add more warm water until the rice has become softened but not completely overcooked. Once the risotto is ready, add the pumpkin puree and half of the sautéed mushrooms to the pot with the risotto along with some sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
- At the last moment, add a handful of finely chopped herbs in there or reserve (part of) them to garnish the risotto with. If you really want to add freshly grated (vegan) parmesan to the pumpkin risotto, now is the time.
- I remove the risotto from the heat and let it rest for 2-3 minutes before transferring it to a serving bowl or plates. I garnish the risotto with the rest of the mushrooms and (more) herbs.