A simple but delicious spring vegetable risotto. Lovely as a side dish, but substantial enough to be a tasty vegan main course.
I often find myself with a glut of spring onions that need using. Recently my Mum said she’d seen a recipe for a vegetable risotto which included spring onions, so I decided to have a go and use up some of the spring onion surplus.
Dairy free risotto
Unlike most risottos, which are enriched with butter and parmesan cheese, I made this one without either. My Mum is on a dairy-free diet, and rather than try and substitute I decided to see what would happen if we just omitted them altogether. The answer – it was totally fine!
There are loads of veggies in here, so it has plenty of flavour and you don’t really miss the dairy products. Be generous with the black pepper though.
Of course you can always add a knob of butter to your spring vegetable risotto, or sprinkle over some cheese. But we enjoy this tasty vegan rice dish just as it comes.
Spring vegetable risotto – Rice and veg
My daughter Kipper picked all the vegetables out of her portion of spring vegetable risotto, and then ate a teeny bit of rice. She often does this with risotto. People frequently tell me that this is the reverse of most children her age, who eat the rice and avoid the veg. Not sure whether to be delighted that she’s eating her vegetables, or disturbed that her dietary habits are so unusual as to be comment-worthy. I think it’s the former.
Eat your greens!
We had green beans, asparagus and courgette in our spring vegetable risotto. I was going to use frozen peas too but they really weren’t necessary. You could use any similar green vegetables that took your fancy – just make sure that there are plenty of them.
Spring vegetable risotto – a tasty main dish or side
We ate this spring vegetable risotto as a side dish with some simple grilled fish. It’s also terrific topped with a fried or poached egg, or with the vegan or vegetarian protein of your choice. As a side dish it made enough for 4-6 servings. If you were having it as a main, I reckon you’d get 2-3 helpings from this amount.
Want deliciously easy, family-friendly recipes like this one delivered straight to your inbox? Click here to sign up. (Of course, I’ll never pass on your email address to anyone.)
📖 Recipe
Spring vegetable risotto
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 spring onions
- 150 g arborio rice
- 900 ml hot vegetable stock
- 100 g green beans
- 125 g trimmed asparagus
- 1 medium courgette
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- 2 tbsp olive oilHeat the olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat.
- 4 spring onionsTrim the spring onions and slice finely, then add to the oil and fry gently for 1-2 minutes.
- 150 g (¾ cups) arborio riceAdd the rice, and stir to coat with the oil. Cook for another minute.
- 900 ml (3 ⅘ cups) hot vegetable stockAdd just enough stock to cover the rice, and stir well. Simmer for a few minutes until the stock is absorbed. Stir, and add more stock.
- Continue simmering, stirring, and gradually adding stock for about 15-17 minutes, until the rice is almost cooked and most of the stock has been added.
- 100 g (3 ½ oz) green beans, 125 g (4 ⅖ oz) trimmed asparagus, 1 medium courgetteMeanwhile, trim the beans and cut into short lengths. Trim the asparagus and cut each one into 3 or 4 pieces. Cut the courgette into quarters lengthwise and then slice into 4-5mm slices.
- Stir the vegetables and the remaining stock into the rice, and cook for another 5 minutes until everything is tender and the stock is absorbed.
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to tasteSeason to taste with salt and pepper, and serve.
Nutrition
More delicious risotto recipes
If you enjoyed this spring vegetable risotto why not also try:
Leave a Reply