This risotto is super delicious and light, plus it’s vegetarian, but I promise you will not be missing the meat in this one. It has a super fresh taste, lots of healthy greens and a little bit of cheese for extra creaminess.
Risotto is so easy to prepare and a great meal at all times. Yes, I call it a meal, cause I believe you can make such a great risotto that no one will be leaving the table hungry, but of course some serve risotto as a garnish to a piece of meat, for instance. Choice is yours, but please, try this one out first, before you fire the grill.
Ingredients:
3 table spoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
Zest from 1 lemon
1 table spoon lemon juice
1/2 tea spoon lemongrass, chopped super finely
200 grams (7 oz) asparagus, chopped into small pieces
300 grams (10 oz) arborio rice
1 l. vegetable broth (additional, if needed) – hot
150 grams (5 oz) kale, cleaned and chopped
2 table spoons ricotta
150 grams (5 oz) Gouda, shredded
Salt and pepper
For the broth – you will need about two and a half times the quantity of the rice you are cooking, so if you have 300 grams of rice, you will need about 800 ml. of broth. You will have to adjust the quantity of the broth on the go, depending on the type of rice you cook. Keep the broth hot until needed.
In a large pot heat the olive oil, add garlic and onion and cook for a few minutes until lightly browned, just be careful to not burn them. Add lemon juice, lemon zest and asparagus and cook for another minute. Reduce the heat to medium and add the rice. Cook for a minute or so, just enough to heat it, not fry it (on low heat), then add kale.
Gradually start adding the broth, part by part as you stir the rice repeatedly – stirring is important because it helps the rice to loose the starch, which creates nice creamy texture of the sauce. Make sure to stir your rice almost constantly but gently because you don’t want to smash it. Let the rice absorb almost all of the part broth you have added, before you add more broth. Keep adding broth until the rice is almost cooked – the rice should be al dente and moist – this means that risotto is usually served with it’s creamy sauce. If you let the broth evaporates completely while your rice is cooking, then you will not have the creamy sauce. If you see that risotto gets dry but it is almost cooked, then add just enough broth to moisten it.
Total time for cooking the rice is about 20-25 minutes, as during that time rice should be gently simmering, not boiling.
Turn the heat off and add ricotta and gouda cheese, stir gently to combine and season with salt and pepper.
This looks amazing, Vessy! So creamy and delicious
Definitely pinning for later!
Thank you, Raquel!