We love risotto but when it’s traditionally made with white risotto rice it’s not such a fabulously nutritious choice. So I wondered whether you could still get that wonderful creamy comforting dish using nutritionally superior brown rice. I’m so happy to report YES you can! You don’t necessarily have to add the cashew cream (it’s only 2-3 tablespoons) but it’s highly recommended.
I added favourite veggies broccoli, red capsicum and mushrooms but now I know this works I’m going to be making it all the time with different ones!
Cooking the rice twice was a real time saver, so you could pre cook the rice ahead of time and then this becomes a really last minute dish which is brilliant for weeknight dinners when you’re pushed for time. If your rice is already cooked this is on the table in about 15 minutes! 🙂
- 300g medium grain brown rice
- 1 large onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 6-8 medium button mushrooms
- 1 very large or 2 medium heads of broccoli
- 1 large red capsicum
- 1 litre vegetable stock
- 2-3 tablespoons cashew cream (cashews, soaked, then blended with water in high speed blender until very silky and creamy - consistency of single cream.)
- NOTE: If you don't have any cashew cream on hand, soak some cashews in boiling water. Soak for as long as you can if you don't have a powerful blender. If you do you can skip the soaking. Blend with enough water to cover until very creamy and not grainy.
- Put your rice on to cook (we have a rice cooker which I strongly recommend as it takes out the guesswork and switches off when it's cooked so you don't need to be around!) whilst you prep your veggies.
- Finely chop the onion, crush or microplane the garlic, dice the mushrooms, separate the broccoli into smallish florets and finely slice the capsicum.
- Using a large heavy based casserole dish, sauté the onion and garlic for a few minutes until softened.
- Add the mushrooms and capsicum and sauté for 5 minutes or until soft.
- Once rice is cooked, tip it into the pan along with the stock and the broccoli. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes until broccoli is cooked to your liking and rice is creamy. You may need to add more water / stock to get the consistency you want (depending on the age and variety of your rice)
- Stir in the cashew cream and season to taste.
- Turn off the heat and allow to sit until ready to serve.