Saturday, June 12, 2010

Broccoli Risotto

For some odd reason I had a hankering for risotto the other day. So I made some. Maybe it's because I have not had risotto for a while, maybe it was the broccoli, or maybe it was the nooch, but I totally loved this dish and could not get enough. It could also be the fact that I made my own veggie broth. Usually I just use water, thinking, "Hey, I'm cooking with veggies so it'll turn into veggie broth on its own. Right?" I did not make a real production of it, just 7 cups of water, a diced onion, carrot, celery stalk and leaves, and some parsley boiled for 30 mins. Easy. And totally worth it.

INGREDIENTS
- 7 cups veggie broth, warm
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp margarine
- 1 large shallot, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 2 cups arborio rice
- 2 cups small broccoli florets (or just chopped)
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast (or more to taste)
- 2 tbsp margarine

METHOD
1. Heat large saucepan over med-hi heat. Add oil and margarine and saute shallots and garlic for a few mins, until soft but not brown.
2. Add rice and cook, stirring constantly, for a few mins until it gets that translucent look. Add salt and pepper, then about 1/2 cup of broth. Bring to bubbling, stirring, until reduced. Then add wine and repeat.
3. Keep adding broth and stirring, letting to reduce each time (the whole process is going to take about 20 minutes). You will probably want to reduce the heat to medium.
4. When you are down to your last cup and a half or so of broth (about 5-8 minutes from being done), add the broccoli. They key is to have small florets so they cook quickly. Keep adding broth as per usual, until rice is tender and broccoli is cooked. You may not use all the broth.
5. Remove from heat and stir in nooch and margarine. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Serve.