Since I love cooking, turning all my favourite food into vegan goodness has been my goal. Making risotto wouldn’t be different. I love a good risotto. The creamy but light, savoury but tangy and the one with real ingredients. Making risotto is almost an art but like all Italian food, simple is always best.
Vegan Leek & Asparagus Risotto
I never added cream to my risotto, so that was the easy bit. For the rest, I simply leave you to read the recipe. What I was really proud about this risotto has nothing to do with swapping ingredients but more about making my own.
Homemade Stock
For the first time I’ve made my own stock. Making stock is one of the easiest things to do and it takes no really special skill or equipment. Only will. So after stocking up a freezer bag with goodies, AKA food scraps, I’ve put them in a pan with 2L of water and let the heat do its thing.
To start my stock, I started saving some kale stalks I couldn’t make myself to throw out and added them to a used ziplock bag I’ve saved. Then, I added some onion and garlic skins. Later, I thought that some carrot and beetroot skins would be even better. And indeed it was. Once my stock had cooked for an hour with some salt, the beautiful colour that the stock acquired had me thinking…it would make a wonderful risotto!
And that’s how this risotto came to life.
Remember that to make stock, you don’t have to have specific ingredients, whatever your veggie scraps are, they’ll make a good stock. Try with different combinations and flavours to create one you really enjoy. The idea here is to use as much of your food scraps instead of throwing them out. Plus, you can use stock to create so many other delicious recipes, such as sauces, casseroles and more!
Stock will also freeze well for up to two months or in the fridge for a week.
With simple but good ingredients, food will always turn out delicious!
- 2 cups of arborio rice
- 1 bunch of asparagus
- 1 leek
- 1 litre homemade stock
- 2 cups of (good quality) white wine
- Olive oil
- Dried thyme
- Salt and pepper to season
- In a large tall pan, add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the leek and sauté until softened.
- Add the rice and cook for another minute.
- Then add the white wine and let it simmer until all is absorbed. Keep stirring constantly so the rice doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Now, repeat the process with the stock. Stir frequently.
- Season with salt and a little pepper and add thyme to taste.
- Once the rice is cooked al dente but still moist, turn heat off and add olive oil to taste.
- Serve and garnish with vegan feta and a drizzle of olive oil.
- Enjoy!
Hope you enjoy this recipe and try to make your own stock.
Peace & Love,
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