Hi, my dear friends. Are you ready for a tasty and versatile Italian dish? Try this easy and delicious vegetarian leek risotto. You’ll need only a bunch of simple ingredients to make this rich-tasting meal, perfect for any day of the week. And it comes in a cute pink colour.
I love making risotto. It’s kind of comfort food for me. Therefore, check out this exciting version of it, in which I used wine, leek, rice (a couple of black rice grains) and the obvious onion and garlic. On the one hand, it’s very simple, on the other hand, is packed with flavour.
What I love about this risotto is its colour. It’s pastel pink. Wink. In order to be able to get that colour, I simply added a couple of black rice grains. Black rice has actually a dark purple colour. Consequently, when mixing it with white rice, it turns to pink. Wink.
Furthermore, you prepare this vegetarian leek risotto just as any other risotto. Prepare it in a traditional way, in a larger pan, by constantly stirring and gradually adding cooking liquids. In this case, I used dry white wine and vegetable stock. Hmm, I used quite some wine, though. But don’t worry, the alcohol will evaporate but at the same time give the rice a tasty essence.
Wine and/or vegetable stock
Moreover, the wine will slowly cook into the rice and give it that lovely taste. I felt a little bit tipsy after eating it. But that might be the fault of the glass of wine I had next to it. Wink. However, if you are concerned your kids consuming alcohol, simply skip the wine and use only vegetable stock instead.
Additionally, I have a really easy and quick tip to a perfect creamy risotto. For instance, at the end of the cooking process, risotto has to sit for two minutes and you have to add some butter to it. As a result, you’ll get an incredibly creamy and tasty risotto. A properly cooked risotto results in a soft outside and in a firm inside of the rice grain.
Are you a rice lover? Then check these lovely rice recipes: a sweet variation of baked milk rice pudding, a stunning risotto filled butternut squash, a fun carrot cauliflower rice, a bowl of healthy purple rice with bok choy, a creamy pumpkin risotto or a delicious prosciutto-mint risotto.
Ingredients for two portions of vegetarian leek risotto:
- 1 Tbsp of olive oil
- 1 red onion (sliced)
- 2 garlic cloves (chopped)
- 1 leek (sliced)
- 220 g of white rice (Arborio rice)
- 1 Tbsp of black rice
- 300-400 ml of dry white wine (Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio)
- 400-500 ml of hot vegetable stock
- salt
- 2 tsp of butter
- cheese for topping
Prepare a larger frying pan with a higher edge and drizzle some olive oil in it. Then, peel and slice the onion, wash and slice the leek and peel and chop the garlic. Once the oil gets hot, reduce the heat to medium and add onion, leek and garlic and stir until slightly wilted.
Furthermore, turn the heat back up, add the rice and continue to stir until the rice turns a little translucent. At this point, start adding the liquids, starting with wine. Go slowly and pour in half of the wine at a time, in order to let the rice absorb it completely. Consequently, the alcohol will evaporate and the wine flavour will stay in the rice.
Then, turn down the heat to medium-low and add the first ladle of vegetable stock. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and let it simmer slowly, to properly cook the rice. Moreover, keep adding the vegetable stock, ladle by ladle. Same way like with the wine, when the liquids are absorbed, add the next ladle.
Once the rice is soft but still with a slight bite, remove the pan from the heat and add the butter. You can also stir in some Parmesan cheese. Last but not least, cover the pan with a lid and let it sit for a couple of minutes.
Finally, your perfect vegetarian leek risotto is ready. Serve it while still steamy and with its beautiful texture. Being so easy and quick to make, it makes a wonderful lunch or dinner. You may add some more Parmesan or any other cheese if you love cheese (like me).
Enjoy!
PS
If you like the recipe, if you make the recipe or if you have any new ideas how to improve or change it, let me know in the comments section below or alternatively share your photos and reactions with me on Instagram (@Passionspoon), Facebook or Twitter (@PassionSpoon1). Simply use the hashtag #passionspoonrecipes in your posts. I would love to see them! (wink)
