Healthy Risotto Recipes

Risotto is a traditional Italian style rice dish and is a nice alternative to pasta. The distinguishing feature that differentiates risotto from other "rice" dishes is that risotto is always cooked with a flavored broth and grated cheese. This combination results in a creamy dish unlike any other rice dishes.

Because risotto can be prepared with an infinite combination of meats, vegetables, and seasonings, it offers the cook a basic starting point to express culinary creativity. I like to try new risotto recipes and then alter them as I go depending on what I have in the kitchen and what sounds like a nice compliment to the ingredients in the recipe. A signature flavor of many risotto dishes is saffron, often referred to as "vegetable gold" because it colors food a golden hue. Saffron is a spice that comes from the flower, saffron crocus. This is a pale purple flower with wide petals. Though I don't often cook with saffron, I sometimes garnish a risotto dish with a small saffron flower to give an exotic appearance to the presentation.

In my family, we like a hearty meaty risotto on cold winter nights and a delicate seafood risotto in the spring or summer. An all-time favorite for any occasion however, is a vegetarian risotto which I often serve as a side dish.

Vegetarian Risotto

Ingredients

2 cups short grain rice

4 ½ - 5 cups vegetable broth

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

½ cup wild mushrooms, chopped

½ package tofu, chopped

1 small tomato, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped

Fresh rosemary

1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano

Optional for garnish: fresh parsley, green onions cleaned, but not chopped, or fresh saffron flowers

Directions

Clean and chop the rosemary.

Heat the oil in a medium sized skillet.

Sauté the onions until they become translucent.

Add the rice and continue to cook about 4 - 5 minutes.

Add the mushrooms, tofu, and tomato.

Add the chopped rosemary.

Add ½ cup of vegetable broth and stir until the rice absorbs it all.

Slowly add the rest of the vegetable broth ½ cup at a time until the rice has absorbed it all, but is not yet soft. It is possible you will have a little broth left over.

Finally stir in the grated cheese and cover with a tight lid for 2 - 3 minutes.

Spoon the risotto into a serving dish and garnish with green onions, saffron flower, or fresh parsley.