Vegan Saffron Risotto
Ingredients
- Olive oil for cooking
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1 Cup Chopped Fresh Shallots
- 2 Tbsp Chopped Fresh Garlic
- 1/2 Cup Dry Chic Peas
- 1 tsp Ground Cumin
- 1/4 Cup Chopped Sweet Onion
- 1 each Bay Leaf
- 1/2 tsp Saffron
- 1 Cup Zucchini cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1/2 Cup Diced Fresh tomato
- 1 Cup White Wine
- 2 Cups Arborio or carnaroli rice
- 4 to 5 Cup Vegetable Broth
- 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
- 1/4 Cup vegan Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 Cup Chopped Fresh herbs: Thyme, parsley, cilantro,scallion mixed
- 1 Bunch Fresh Asparagus, cut in 1/2 inch lengths
Instructions
- Soak the chic peas in water for at least 4 hours, preferably all day or overnight. They should at least double in volume. Drain well before cooking.
- Heat a little olive oil in a heavy pot over medium high heat. Add in the onion and 1/2 the garlic. Stir and cook until translucent. Add the bay leaf and cumin. Then stir in the chic peas. Cover with double the amount of water to beans. Bring to a boil, then taper back to a simmer. Cook until they are soft (about 20 minutes). Season with salt and pepper. You can do this ahead of time or while you are preparing the risotto.
- Simmer the vegetable stock in another pot
- Heat a large wide pan or pot with high sides with a generous coating of olive oil over medium high heat. Stir in the shallot and garlic. Cook until translucent. Add in the saffron, turn the heat down to medium and stir until the color blooms. Then add in the rice. Stir to coat evenly with olive oil. The better it is coated with oil, the better the integrity of the rice when it is cooked.
- Add the wine to the pot, stir well, and bring to a simmer. Stir as needed to keep from sticking. When the wine is mostly absorbed begin to ladle in the hot vegetable broth, one ladle at a time. You want to cover the rice with liquid and continue cooking. As it begins to evaporate, add more, monitoring the done-ness of the rice. When the rice is soft enough to chew, but maintains its shape, cook down until dry. Stir in the tomatoes, zucchini, Asparagus, chic peas, coconut oil, and "cheese". Season with salt and pepper. Fold in the herbs. Serve immediately
Notes
If you have any leftovers, you can make them into arancini or rissotto cakes. For arancini, put a ball of cheese in the middle of some of the rissotto, roll int a ball, bread, then fry. Or skip putting the cheese in the middle, and just make balls or patties, bread, and fry or pan sear.