Risotto is deceptively simple to make, and has very few ingredients, but it does take a little time. If you can commit to at least 30 minutes of constant stirring, you’re in for the ultimate comfort food.

If you don’t like mushrooms, it’s easy to adapt this basic risotto to use different seasonal ingredients like asparagus or turnip greens. One time I tried making a beet risotto…that was a mistake. The beets made the risotto turn a nasty shade of pink that looked like raw ground beef. It was not appetizing at all, so don’t use red beets. Use mushrooms!

Basic Vegan Mushroom Risotto Recipe

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups arborio rice
• 3 small shallots
• 8 oz mushrooms
• 0.5 oz sage
• 3 T olive oil
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 3-4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 lemon
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. Slice the shallots, sage, and mushrooms as thinly as possible. Grate the lemon’s peel and set the zest aside.
2. Warm up the veggie broth in a saucepan, and keep it simmering on low heat.
3. Heat the olive oil over medium flame in a heat-bottomed pan, like a cast iron skillet or dutch oven.
4. Add the mushrooms, shallots, and sage, stirring until the shallots turn translucent and the mushrooms are tender.
5. Season with a little salt and pepper.
6. Add the rice and stir for 1 minute.
7. Add the white wine—keep stirring!
8. After the rice has absorbed most of the wine, start adding the vegetable broth a little add a time. Stir, stir, stir!
9. Keep adding warm broth and stirring until the rice is cooked all the way through. Taste a bit from time to time to check whether or not the rice is crunchy in the middle or if the risotto needs more salt and pepper.
10. Once the rice is cooked through, squeeze in the lemon juice. Stir it in, and turn off the heat. Serve garnished with lemon zest.

Notes:

• Besides stirring (and patience) the main secret to making risotto is using hot broth. If you add cold broth, the rice will stop cooking and you’ll be stirring for hours.
• If wine is not your thing, just use a little extra veggie broth instead.
• You can use pretty much any kind of mushroom. I used crimini mushrooms here, but you can use white mushrooms or portobellos or shiitake or oyster mushrooms or a medley!
• If you don’t like mushrooms, try using greens (like spinach) or a squash (like butternut).
• Feel free to experiment with different herbs, like tarragon, or sub onions or leeks for the shallots.
• Chef’s Secret: You don’t always have to use arborio rice. It’s expensive, and if you aren’t able to splurge, you can use another medium grain white rice. I use Calrose Rice when I make risotto, and it works perfectly.
• You can top this vegan risotto with grilled tempeh or a chicken substitute like Gardein cutlets if you want to add a bit more protein.