Vegan Recipes: Risotto

Showing posts with label Risotto. Show all posts

Sunday, September 7, 2025

Risotto with red radicchio

Sauté a small chopped onion with olive oil until translucent, then add chopped radicchio and a pinch of salt. Keep stirring.

When the radicchio is soft and your Italian ancestors whisper to you that the time is right, add the rice. If you don’t have Italian ancestors then gently sauté the radicchio for about ten minutes, or until you lose the bitterness but not the taste. Add vegetable stock little by little until the risotto is ready. Adjust with salt and pepper five minutes before the end. It tastes great with a drop of Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena, if you have it.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Saturday, July 13, 2019

Risotto with radicchio

One of the many joys of winter in Italy is the abundance of radicchio, and there are so many varieties, like this long and compact beauty, perfect for risotto.

I also found my Mum's old green pot (about 50 years old) which she always used to make risotto, and discovered that it is suitable to my new Italian kitchen's induction cooker. It may look a bit battered but it cooks beautifully!

To start chop a white onion and sauté with olive oil, then add the chopped and rinsed radicchio with a pinch of salt, put the lid on and simmer, stirring from time to time, until the the radicchio is all wilted and doesn't taste too bitter.

It should take about 20 minutes on low, and look like this (with a bit of juice). Now add the arborio rice, (I made risotto for 8 with about 600 g of rice, only one onion and one radicchio!).

Stir until the rice is hot and then start adding the vegetable stock, ladle by ladle as needed, you will need about two litres of it.

Keep stirring and adding stock until ready. When working with large quantities of rice it is better to rinse it first to remove a little starch, otherwise it will become too hard to turn, and too sticky.

Risotto with Radicchio is a great Italian classic, very popular in Veneto and Emilia Romagna (the best radicchio is from Treviso). Possibly in Veneto you would accompany it with one their fine whites, but in Emilia I paired it with a Pignoletto and it tasted great! Enjoy!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Saturday, February 10, 2018

Risi e bisi coi baccelli - Fresh pea risotto with pea pod broth (waste not!)

Peas are a precious crop for me, I don't like to buy big bags of frozen peas like everyone seems to do in New Zealand (and other countries), it makes them feel 'cheap' and 'common' and an everyday boring side veggie.

I like my fresh peas and I like them to be the main player in a dish, like for risi e bisi, a traditional risotto dish from Veneto, Italy. And the best part of growing them? Is to keep the pods, and as I am a NO-FOOD-WASTE advocate, to use them to make stock, which will be the base of the risotto. So shell the peas and keep the pods, wash them well and place them in a pot with water (I used about 1.2 litres of water for a basket of peas) and rock salt and simmer for at least one hour. You can also add a little parsley or celery leaves to the stock, but not too much as they have very strong flavour. Filter the stock and keep hot. You can also cut the pods into tiny strips and add them to the risotto, but I just gave them to some hungry visiting chickens (big mistake, they are always around my house now!!).

To prepare the risotto chop an onion and saute with margarine or soy butter (olive oil ok but vegetable butter is better for this). Butter should still be bubbling when you add the rice (I used arborio). Stir until the rice is hot then add the peas.

Stir again and then start adding the stock, little by little. If you use a good casserole you can cover the risotto from time to time and let is absorb the liquid, otherwise keep stirring and adding stock until the risotto is ready.

Towards the end test for salt and add a little pepper if you like. Eat hot. Leftovers are good to make croquettes or arancini the day after.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Thursday, November 9, 2017

Artichoke Risotto

I only had two artichokes and needed a meal for 4 people, and risotto was the ideal solution. Clean the artichokes and remove the outer leaves. Peel the stalks and cut into small pieces. Put everything in water with lemon juice while you work or the artichokes will become black. Finely chop a handful of parsley with a couple of garlic cloves and add salt. Stuff the artichokes with the chopped garlic and parsley and add a drizzle of olive oil. Place in a casserole, together with the stalks, and add 5cm of water. Simmer on low with the lid on for one hour or until cooked (the outer leaves will start to detach), adding a little hot
water from time to time. Prepare a litre of boiling vegetable stock (I used Rapunzel vegetable broth cubes). In a separate pot melt a tsp of vegetable margarine or 3 heat 3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, add the rice (arborio or carnaroli) 100g per person, then add the artichokes and their juice. Then slowly add the vegetable stock stirring constantly until the risotto is ready. Adjust with salt if needed and serve immediately, if you have two people one artichoke each, if four cut the artichokes into two.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Monday, December 2, 2013

Super quick vegetable risotto

Quick Risotto di verdura

Ingredients

1 small onion

1 small carrot

1 celery stalk with leaves

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp chopped parsley

400 g carnaroli rice

1 glass white wine

1.5 vegetables stock

1 portion of frozen spinach

4 tbsp frozen peas

Chop the onion, carrot and celery, then sauté with olive oil. Add the parsley and rice, then a glass of white wine. Add the vegetable stock ladle by ladle, stirring constantly. Halfway through cooking add the spinach, and 5 minutes before finishing add the peas. Serve hot.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Leek and edamame Vegan risotto

Chop one large leek and wash it, then sauté with olive oil until soft. Add one cup of shelled edamame (I used the frozen ones) and sauté until the edamame are starting to cook. Add 400 g arborio rice and stir, when the rice is hot and starting to toast add a glass of white wine at room temperature (not chilled). Stir and after the wine has been absorbed add about 1 l of vegetable stock, one ladle at the time, stirring often until cooked.

Serves 4

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Red and Yellow Bell Pepper Risotto

This is a super quick, simple but tasty dish

Ingredients:

1 large red capsicum

1 large yellow capsicum

2 garlic cloves (peeled)

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

400 g arborio rice

1 glass white wine

1.5 l hot vegetable stock

Chop the capsicums into small cubes, place in a pot with the garlic and olive oil and sizzle. Before the capsicums start to brown add the rice and stir to coat the rice with the oil, then add the wine. Let the wine absorb then add the stock, ladle by ladle, stirring constantly, until the risotto is cooked (about 20 minutes). Serve immediately.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Asparagus Risotto

I Love Asparagus

Here is an easy and classy risotto

Get a pot ready with 1.5 of vegetable stock (home made or organic)

Clean a bunch of asparagus and cut into 3-4 cm pieces (remove only the woodiest part, the rest of the spears are fine). Keep aside.

Finely chop a small onion (possibly white), put in a capable casserole or saucepan with 2 tbsp of olive oil and cook until the onion is translucent, but not brown yet.

Add the 500 g of arborio rice.

Stir, add one glass of white wine.

Stir, add one ladle of vegetable stock.

Stir, add the asparagus spear pieces, but not the tips!

Keep stirring and adding vegetable stock until the risotto is nearly cooked. It will take about 20 minutes. Add the asparagus tips only at the last 5 minutes of cooking.

Serve immediately.

Monday, January 31, 2011

Risotto with Zucchini and Tofu

Still plenty of zucchini in the garden...I have been cooking them in 100 ways, so here is a risotto!

Ingredients

1 block of tofu, frozen and then defrosted

1 shallot

2 yellow zucchini

2 green zucchini

2 tbs olive oil

400 g arborio rice

1 glass wine (optional)

1.5 l vegetable stock

If you freeze the tofu, and then defrost it, it becomes porous and absorbs flavours like a sponge! Also it doesn't brake into pieces while you are cooking it, even in risotto, when you have to stir often!

Cut the tofu into small cubes. Chop the shallot and slice the zucchini. In a capable saucepan sauté the shallot and tofu with the olive oil. After a couple of minutes add the rice and, when hot, the wine. Stir and add the zucchini, and then, ladle by ladle, the vegetable stock.

Cook as for any risotto, slowly and stirring often, adding liquid only as needed. Serve immediately.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Artichoke Risotto with Baby Yellow Zucchini and Flowers

Ingredients

2 artichokes

Lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1 cup Italian parsley

Salt to taste

Extra Virgin Olive oil

1 shallot

500 g arborio rice

500 ml vegetable stock

5 yellow baby zucchini (as small as a finger) with flower still attached

Calendula petals to decorate

Serve 6

Cook the artichokes one day earlier. In a bowl filled with water and lemon juice wash the artichokes and cut out a few of the hardest leaves (petals). Finely chop the garlic cloves with the parsley and a little salt and then use to stuff the artichokes. Place in a small saucepan, drizzle with olive oil and cover halfway through with water. Simmer until the outer leaves easily detach from the heart, adding water from time to time if necessary. The water will make a lovely broth.

The day after scrape all the flesh from the hardest outer leaves and place in a small saucepan with the artichoke hearts and their water (discard the hard bits). Mush flesh and hearts with a wooden spoon, and gently reheat. Keep warm and set aside.

Finely chop the shallot andsauté with 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add the rice and when this is lightly 'toasted', add the artichokes and their water. Stir and then continue cooking, adding some hot vegetable stock little by little, and stirring often. If the risotto is too dry you may need to add a little more stock or boiling water.

Clean the yellow zucchini, do no detach the flowers, just remove the sepals. When the risotto is almost cooked add the zucchini, gently stir in to cover them completely with the risotto, turn the element off, cover the pot with a lid and let it stand for 5 minutes. The zucchini are very small and should cook with the heat of the risotto.

To assemble, divide the risotto between 6 plates, with one baby zucchini for each plate, sprinkle with calendula flowers, and enjoy.

Vegan Recipes

Pages

Sunday, September 7, 2025

Risotto with red radicchio

Saturday, July 13, 2019

Risotto with radicchio

Saturday, February 10, 2018

Risi e bisi coi baccelli - Fresh pea risotto with pea pod broth (waste not!)

Thursday, November 9, 2017

Artichoke Risotto

Monday, December 2, 2013

Super quick vegetable risotto

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Leek and edamame Vegan risotto

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Red and Yellow Bell Pepper Risotto

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Asparagus Risotto

Monday, January 31, 2011

Risotto with Zucchini and Tofu

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Artichoke Risotto with Baby Yellow Zucchini and Flowers

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