Pesto risotto & roasted tomatoes
A vibrant green, creamy and super flavorful risotto that’s perfect for a date night or when you’re feeling a little extra fancy in the kitchen. I don’t know about you but I could eat pesto with everything so when the idea popped into my mind of making a pesto risotto I was beyond excited to try it out. And as I expected, I’m obsessed. I Also added some roasted cherry tomatoes and peppers for a pop of color but they also go so well with the pesto.
Risotto is a northern Italian rice dish that is traditionally cooked with, butter, rice, onion, white wine, broth and parmesan cheese, until it’s nice and creamy. It can be easily made vegan by swapping out only a few ingredients. Risotto makes a great base and you could add all different kinds of flavors to it. Today we are adding pesto. And let me tell you, it does not disappoint! You could make the pesto from scratch using my super easy recipe here or a storebought (vegan) pesto will work great too! The tomatoes and peppers are quickly roasted with some olive oil, salt and garlic while making the risotto. Enough talking, let’s start cooking.
Serves 2 people
Ingredients
190 gr of arborio risotto rice
1,5 L veggie broth
60 ml vegan white wine
1 shallot, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced + 2 extra for roasting
2 tbs of butter
60 gr of vegan parmesan, grated (my favorite brand)
1/2 batch of my homemade pesto (or about 60 gr of storebought pesto)
200 gr cherry tomatoes, halved
1 red bell peppers, sliced into strips
2 tbs of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
How to
Roast the tomatoes and peppers by placing them on a baking dish. Season with salt and pepper, cut the 2 garlic cloves in half and drizzle with olive oil.
Roast in the oven for 20 minutes.
Add the broth in a pot and place over medium-high heat. Keep it on a low simmer while you make the risotto.
Meanwhile make the risotto. Add the butter to a separate large pot over medium-high heat. Once melted add the shallot and garlic.
Cook for 2 minutes until translucent.
Add the rice and toast the rice for another minute, while stirring.
Deglaze with the white wine and simmer for 3-5 minutes, until most of the liquid has evaporated from the pan or been absorbed by the rice.
Start by adding a ladle of the warmed broth to the pan with the rice. Reduce the heat to Medium-Low and stir the mixture frequently. Once the rice has absorbed all the broth and you can drag your spoon through the mixture and it leaves a dry path, add an additional ladle of warm broth. Repeat this process with the remaining broth.
Begin to taste the Risotto for doneness at around 15 minutes, though it may take 20-25 minutes to cook in total. The Rice will be creamy but have a slightly al dente texture once finished.
Once the risotto has cooked, turn the heat off and stir in the pesto and grated vegan parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste, if desired.
Devide the risotto onto plates and top with the roasted tomatoes and peppers.
Buon Appetito!
QUICK TIP:
A perfect risotto should not be sticky. It should be creamy and runny. Add more broth when your risotto gets too thick once you take it of the heat (step 10).
