Vegan Risotto Primavera Celebrates Spring Vegetables

Elegant Vegan Risotto Primavera with Asparagus, Mushrooms, Peas & Baby Greens

Creamy, rich and flavorful risotto without butter or cheese. How can that be? The creaminess of the risotto rice come from the right technique. The mixture of tahini, white miso and homemade stock makes the risotto rich and flavorful. Rather unbelievable, actually, that Vegan Risotto Primavera is both delicious and healthier, too.

Restaurant Risotto vs Homemade

Years ago, I watched a food show with a well-known chef making risotto on TV. Once the rice was perfectly cooked, the chef took it off the heat. With a flourish he then whipped in an additional stick of softened butter along with an abundance of Parmigiano Reggiano. All the while telling his audience, and I paraphrase, “This [the amount of butter and cheese] is the difference between restaurant cooking and home cooking.”

In the words of Michael Pollan:
“Eat anything you want, just cook it yourself.”

“Waste Not” Suggestions

It has always felt wasteful to me to snap off the tough asparagus ends and discard them as most recipes recommend. This Vegan Risotto Primavera recipe offers a great alternative. Simmer those tough ends in your stock for 15 minutes. Even though simmering them doesn’t make them edible, they will add a subtle layer of asparagus flavor to your risotto stock before being discarded/composted.

Slice off the very bottom of your mushroom stems. Toss those mushroom ends along with the tough asparagus ends into the risotto stock to boost its flavor even more.

Vegetable trimmings make for delicious vegetable stock. Onion, garlic, leek greens, parsley stems, mushroom ends and stems, celery and carrot trimmings. Save them all in a container in your freezer. When your container is full, prepare a batch of homemade, Umami Rich Vegetable Stock.

Note: if you would prefer a whiter risotto, do not add dried mushrooms to your stock. Perhaps some dried porcini powder instead to retain the depth of umami that dried mushrooms add.

Stock Versus Broth

Although the words stock and broth are often used interchangeably, there is an important difference between them. Culinarily speaking, once a stock has been seasoned it becomes a broth. So, if a recipe calls for stock and you’re using a broth, reduce the salt called for in the recipe. Then, salt to taste at the end.

Risotto for a Dinner Party
Here’s a trick from my catering days:

• Up to a couple of hours before serving, begin cooking the risotto.
• Cook the rice half way. It will still be rather firm in the middle.
• Turn the rice out of the pan and onto a rimmed baking sheet to cool it and stop its cooking.
• 20 minutes before serving, reheat the stock over low heat.
• Return the rice to the pot over medium heat. Add a couple of ladleful’s of hot stock. Stir gently until hot. Taste the rice for doneness.
• Finish cooking according to your recipe.

Vegan Risotto Primavera with Asparagus, Mushrooms, Peas &  Greens

• • Elegant, creamy and comforting Vegan Risotto Primavera features an abundance of spring greens, asparagus, mushrooms and peas for heightened color, flavor and nutrients.
  • The key to creating risotto’s characteristic consistency is to gradually add the liquid while stirring the grains every minute or so. This helps the starches release from the rice, creating that desired creaminess that risotto is known for.
  • Do prepare all of your vegetables in advance. As once you begin cooking risotto, you’ll want to give the rice most of your attention.
  • Inspired and adapted from a recipe on the Soom Tahini website as well as from a more classical recipe for Roasted Asparagus Risotto with Peas & Spinach.
  • Don’t let the length of this recipe intimidate you. I like to give you all the details, to guide you to success. 😊 And, when you prep your stock and vegetables in advance, Vegan Risotto Primavera will take an hour at most.

Makes 6-8 servings                        Printer-Friendly Recipe
Total Time about 2 hours (with premade stock)

Ingredients:

• 9-10 ½ cups vegetable stock (preferably homemade and unsalted)
• 1 ½ pounds medium asparagus
• 1 cup ¼-inch diced onion
• ½ pound ¼ inch sliced cremini mushrooms
• 4 ounces fresh baby spinach or Power Greens, roughly sliced ½-inch thick
• ¾ cup frozen green peas
• 3 garlic cloves, minced or put through a garlic press
• 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried)
• 2 Tbsp white miso paste, room temperature
• 2 Tbsp tahini, room temperature
• 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1½ cups risotto rice, i.e., Arborio or Carnaroli  Note: Do Not Rinse rice for risotto
• 12 twists freshly ground black pepper
• Salt to taste, about 1 ¼ teaspoons if using unsalted stock

 Directions:

1. If possible, prepare your stock in advance.
2. Prepare the asparagus: Snap off the tough ends from the asparagus. Place them in a pot along with 10 ½ cups of vegetable stock. Bring the stock to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat so the stock simmers. Cook the asparagus ends for 15 minutes. Strain and discard/compost the cooked asparagus ends. Save and measure the stock. Return the stock to a saucepan, adding additional stock to equal 9 ½ cups.
3. Cut the tips off the asparagus in 1 ½ inch lengths. Cut the remaining stalks into 1-inch lengths.
4. Place 1 cup of stock in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook 1 ½ cups of the stalks in the stock until just tender. Use a blender to purée them together. Set aside.
5. Place 1 cup stock in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook the asparagus tips and remaining cut stalks until just tender, about 5 minutes. Drain the asparagus. Place it on a paper towel to dry and set aside.
6. Prepare the rest of the vegetables: Dice the onion, slice the mushrooms, slice the greens, defrost the frozen peas, mince or press the garlic and strip the thyme leaves off their stems.
7. Prepare the miso/tahini mixture: Place the miso and tahini in a 1-cup container. Use a spoon to begin mixing the tahini and miso together. 1 tablespoon at a time, add about 3 tablespoons of stock, stirring slowly and gently, to thin and smooth the mixture. Set aside.

8. Prepare the risotto:

9. Bring the stock to a gentle simmer in a covered pan.
10. Heat the oil in a soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook, covered, until soft, about 5-7 minutes.
11. Increase the heat to medium-high and stir in the sliced mushrooms. Cook 3-4 minutes, until softened. Toss in the garlic and thyme; cook 1 more minute, stirring often.
12. Reduce the heat to medium. Stir in the rice. Cook until the rice begins to crackle, about 2 minutes.
13. Add stock to the rice in ¾-cup increments. Stir the rice every few minutes until the stock is absorbed. The bottom of the pan will be almost dry.
14. Repeat adding the stock in increments. Stirring until it is absorbed before adding more stock until the rice is al dente and surrounded by liquid. About 25 to 30 minutes. (It may take 3 to 4 minutes for each addition to be absorbed.)
15. Stir in the asparagus purée. Then add the defrosted peas, cooked asparagus (optional: reserve a few tips for garnishing each bowl) and thinly-sliced greens. Continue cooking and gently stirring until the rice is cooked and the risotto creamy, about 5 minutes.
16. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the miso/tahini mixture, the black pepper and lemon zest. Adjust the salt to taste. Risotto should be slightly soupy. Add additional stock (or water if you haven’t any more stock) to reach the perfect consistency.
17. Serve Vegan Risotto Primavera immediately, possibly garnished with the reserved asparagus tips.

Printer-Friendly Recipe.