Beetroot Risotto

     Happy holidays friends! I hope everyone is catching up on their much needed holiday baking! I know I have a long list of all my holiday favourites. But when planning and cooking for Christmas dinner is clouding you brain, it can be hard to think of what to make tonight, or tomorrow night for that matter. So I thought I'd give you a little help.

     I created this recipe as part of a project for one my nutrition courses, Thought that I might as well share it with you as well. This is a perfect winter risotto as it features beets, one of my favourite winter root vegetables. This is a pretty classic risotto. Make sure you have a real flavorful broth as this is what is really going to season your dish. 

Serves: 4 approximately a 1.5 cup portion
Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients 

• 4 cups (1 L) vegetable stock
• 2 Tbsp (30 mL) olive oil
• 1 onion (100 g), finely chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 350g (12 oz) fresh beetroot, peeled and diced
• 1 cup risotto rice
• ¼ cup (60 ml) white wine
• 2 Tbsp (30g) margarine
• ½ Lemon, juiced or 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp thyme leaves, plus a couple leaves to garnish
•  Black Pepper, to serve
• 1 lemons, sliced into 6 wedges each, for garnish

Preparation

1. Heat the stock in a saucepan until almost boiling, then reduce heat until barely simmering to keep it hot.
2. Meanwhile, gather all other ingredients. Chop onions, mince garlic, peel, wash and dice beets, wash and de-stem thyme and wash and cut lemons.
3. Heat the oil in a large pan. Sauté the onion, garlic and beetroot until softened (about 6-8 minutes). Add the rice and stir well until the grains are well coated and glistening.
4. Pour in the wine, stir. One absorbed add a ladleful of hot stock. Simmer, stirring all the time until it has almost all been absorbed, then add more broth. Continue to add the stock at intervals and cook as before until the rice is tender but firm.
5. Add the margarine and lemon juice and thyme leaves and stir gently.
6. Plate with a wedge of lemon and freshly ground black pepper. 

Oven Fried Rice

My family has been making this recipe for years, not sure why my dad calls it fried rice when its baked but either way, its tasty. An easy version of fried rice, without all the hassle of actually frying the rice. 

This dish is great for potluck. An easy crowd pleaser.

Serves 6-10

Ingredients

1 package onion soup mix
2 finely chopped celery stalks
2 small or 1 large chopped onion
1/2 diced green bell pepper (optional)
1 can mushrooms with liquid
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 cups long grain rice
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 1/4 cups boiling water

Preparation

Mix all ingredients in a roaster pan, adding liquids last. 
Mix, cover and cook for 1 hour at 350 deg. F.
No need to stir while baking. Remove after an hour, let cool a couple of minutes and serve.
Told you this was easy.

Chipotlé Mexican Mania

Living in Toronto, we quickly learned to love Chipotle Mexican Grill. Their burritos and bowls are the best. Fresh ingredients, loads of vegetables - what's not to love? Oh wait the price! We much prefer making our own at home! We've gathered and worked on a delicious guacamole, cilantro-lime rice and mexican black beans, all inspired by Chipotle's vegetarian fair. All the recipes are fresh, easy and delicious, so give them a try!

Serves: 4

Guacamole

• 2 Hass Avocados, ripe and mashed
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
• 1-2 tbsp red onion, finely chopped
• 2 heaping tbsp chopped cilantro (fresh)
• 1/4 lime juiced or 2 tsp lime juice
• 1/8 tsp salt or to taste

Mash avocado and then mix together with all other ingredients in a bowl and serve with chips or as a topping for burritos, bowls, tacos,... 

Cilantro lime Rice

• 1 cup long grain rice
• 2 cups water
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1/2 lime, juiced or 1 tbsp+ 1 tsp lime juice
• 1/8 tsp salt

Cook rice with two parts water in a rice cooker or on the stove in a medium sauce pot, following package instruction. 
When all water is absorbed, remove from heat and let steam for 5 minutes.
Mix salt and lime juice together and then add to the rice along with the cilantro.
Mix and serve.

Black Beans

• 2 cans black beans, 1 drained, 1 undrained
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/8 tsp asian 5-spice (or allspice)
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt or to taste
• optional: 3 chipotles en adobo sauce, minced

Combine all ingredients in a small pot and stew over medium heat for around 30 minutes.

• Serve with lightly sautéed green peppers and red onions, cheese, lettuce and salsa on a large tortilla to make your burrito.
• If you prefer burrito bowls, as I do, layer the ingredients: rice, beans, sautéed green peppers and red onions, crunchy lettuce (ex. romaine), with salsa, cheese, and guacamole, grab a fork and dig in!

Back to the Basics

There are a few recipes that come in handy a lot in our household, the first being risotto and the second being  good old Caesar salad, vegan style.

There are many vegan caesar dressing recipes that miss the mark out there. They can easily be too liquidy, or sadly just not garlicy enough. This recipe however, is neither. The perfect amount of garlic and salt, this dressing only gets better the longer it waits for you in the fridge.

Vegan Caesar Salad

Ingredients 

In a mason jar combine:

3 Tbsp nutritional yeast

2 Tbsp soy milk

3-4 Tbsp vegan mayonnaise preferably, but vegan sour cream or cream cheese work too)

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp dijon mustard

2 cloves minced garlic 

1/4 tsp salt and fresh ground pepper

Preparation

Shake and or stir to combine. 

Best served on kale with fresh croutons and thinly sliced fried tofu chips*.

To make tofu chips: Thinly slice tofu and fry at medium temp. Drizzle with soy sauce and cover with yeast, and any other desired spices such as pepper, Provençal, or Italian spices.
To make fresh croutons: cube bread, drissle bread with olive oil and sprinkle with spices, salt and pepper. Toast on a low temperature until dried and crouton-ey. 

Risotto Base

Risotto is one of those versatile dishes that can be paired with a variety of vegetables. In the photo above, we had prepared  an acorn squash and kale risotto.  Risotto also pairs well with roasted vegetables, like cauliflower and garlic, pepper and tomatoes or zucchini. Vegetables can be cooked prior cooking the rice or with the rice. Mushroom Risotto is our all time favourite, and one of the most flavourful and easiest risotto dishes (photo below) If you're making mushroom risotto, cut up dried mushrooms and reconstituting them in the broth and pair with fresh fried mushrooms, which can be cooked along side the rice. Its important when preparing the risotto to have a ratio of one part 'goodies' to one part rice, so don't be shy with those mushrooms!

Serves: 2 as a main, 4 as a side

Ingredients

3 cloves garlic, minced 

olive oil to coat

1 1/4 cups vegetable broth

1 3/4 cups hot water, can be added to broth to dilute it

1 onion chopped

1 cup arborio rice

1/4 cup white wine (or water to make harvest rice, which is alcohol free)

About 2 cups vegetables of choice, ie. mixed mushrooms, roasted cauliflower, etc.

Preparation 

In a small sauce pan, heat broth and water to a boil, reduce heat and keep warm.

In a large frying pan, heat oil over medium heat. 
Sauté onion until transparent (~3 min) (if using mushrooms, sauté now for an additional 5 minutes).
Add rice, stirring to coat grains in oil, let toast for around 3 minutes, until slightly transparent, then add wine, stirring until almost no liquid remains.

Add broth to rice, one ladle, or 1/2 cup at a time, while mixing often. When almost no liquid remains, add more broth, and repeat until there is no more broth and the rice is cooked. 
While adding liquid, you may spice your risotto to your liking, we enjoy thyme (at least 2 tsp dry), however, do not add salt and pepper till the near end as to not over salt the dish. 
Cooking the rice should take 18-20 minutes, and should produce creamy but not mushy rice, that still has a bit of a crunch in the middle.

If you desire a creamier product, you may wish to add some soy milk instead of the last 1/2 cup liquid, and vegan cheese, such as Daiya, at the end.

If the risotto sits for two long it may become stiff and less creamy, to avoid this add 1-2 tsp lemon juice at the end of the cooking process.