risotto – Vegans.UK

Many people see going vegan as giving up certain foods. While that may be strictly true in that animal products of any kind are most definitely off the table, other foods sneak their way into your diet and you’re all the richer for it. What do I mean? Well, there are many foods I eat now that I wouldn’t have eaten before I became vegan. The only reason for this was that I simply didn’t think about eating creatively. Even as a vegetarian, which I’ve been for most of my life, I didn’t consider the wide spectrum of food available to me. It’s funny, even going veggie aged twelve, people asked me (as indeed they do now) ‘What do you eat?’ as though all they do all day is stuff meat into their faces. Come to think of it, maybe that’s not so far fetched…Anyway, what I’m saying is that far from sacrificing flavour for your principles or health, as a vegan you tend to discover a whole new range of tastes that more than make up for any you’ve had to give up.

If you’ve even flicked through a vegan cookbook you may have thought to yourself, what on earth do these people use as ingredients – weirdos. Well, although I’m discovering new food all the time, I’d like to give you a rundown of some unusual vegan ingredients that you may not have heard of, as well as more familiar ones that we vegans use in non-traditional ways.

I’m going to kick off with Nutritional Yeast, or nooch for short. It’s a savoury, almost cheesy tasting non-active yeast that comes in the form of flakes and you can buy it at your local health food store or online. You can use it for all sorts of things, but I like to sprinkle it onto a pasta dish for some extra B12 (some nooch is fortified with it) or spin it into a homemade salad dressing to round out the flavour. There are various recipes for blending nooch with flour, water, mustard and cashews or suchlike to make cheese-style sauces.

This is one of the best from vegan chef Isa Chandra Moscowitz. I also love the one from her cookery book Appetite for Reduction, although she has several others on her website, check them out. I also love to stir nutritional yeast into a risotto at the end instead of parmesan (although vegan parmesan is coming on in leaps and bounds.) See my recipe here. So really, it’s a flexible ingredient that’s great when you’re after that cheesy taste. A little goes a long way, so my advice is to buy yourself a tub and search around for some fun recipes or simply experiment yourself.

The recipe below is for mushroom and green bean risotto, but feel free to get creative. I’ve used a combination of mushrooms and chopped leeks for example, or peas, peppers, even broccoli chopped up small – whatever easily/quickly cooked veg I have lying around really.

Nutritional yeast is probably an ingredient you haven’t heard of unless you’re vegan, but never fear. It’s not 100% essential that you use it, but it does give the dish a nice savoury flavour (parmesan is used in non-vegan versions). It’s available in good health food shops or online.

Have inexpensive wine around the house for risotto

I won’t lie to you, there’s a lot of stirring in this recipe, but it is worth it. Use the time to stare into space and plan world domination, or just sip the rest of the bottle of wine to keep you amused…

Tinned mushrooms are often more convenient than fresh

Serves 4

Ingredients:

250g mushrooms

Handful of green beans

Tablespoon light soy sauce

Onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

250g risotto rice

3 tablespoons dry white wine

Sometimes just called Risotto Rice, Arborio is the stuff to use

1 litre vegetable stock

Tablespoon nutritional yeast

(Salt and pepper to taste and parsley to garnish if desired)

Here’s how I do it:

Cook the mushrooms and green beans(or whatever you’re using, see note) in the soy sauce and 4 tablespoons of water for 5-10 mins till soft. Season to taste and set aside.

In a separate pan, cook the onion and garlic in 2 tablespoons of water until they start to sizzle. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 mins. Add more water (a tablespoon at a time) if it starts to dry out.

Make sure stock is absorbed before adding the next lot

Add the rice and wine to the onions and cook for 2 mins. Pour in a quarter of the stock and bring to the boil. Stir constantly.

Sainsbury's wine is handily labelled as vegan — Sainsbury’s wine is handily labelled as vegan

When the stock has been absorbed, add another cup of stock and continue to do this (add stock, stir, absorb…) until the rice is tender. Don’t be tempted to rush this bit. Constant stirring helps it get all nice and creamy. Make sure the stock has been absorbed fully before adding the next one.

Once all the stock is gone, mix in the mushrooms/green beans mixture and nutritional yeast. (If you only have dried parsley, you can add in a shake at this stage.) Stir until well combined, and then serve into pre heated bowls. If you’re using fresh parsley, pop a large sprig on top and enjoy.

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