Last week we featured Chef Jason Wyrick's Basic Vegan Pesto (with variations in the February 2009 issue of the Vegan Culinary Experience, his free online magazine), but this week we are stepping up from sauces to a wonderful dish that is quintessentially Italian, but also typically filled with cheese ... risotto.  Chef Jason shares his basic recipe here, and within the February issue of the VCE you will also find recipes for Chanterelle Risotto and Wild Mushroom Risotto. The basic recipe that follows is quite simple, and can be added to in so many ways. As Chef Jason points out, risotto is a bit labor intensive, but it is also quite filling ...

Basic Vegan Risotto

Recipe reprinted with permissions from the Vegan Culinary Experience

Type: Main Dish
Serves: 2
Time to Prepare: 25 minutes

Ingredients
1 cup of Arborio rice
½ tsp. of olive oil
3 to 4 cups of veggie stock
1/8 tsp. of salt
Option: ½ cup of white wine in place of ½ cup of veggie stock

Instructions
Warm the veggie stock in a pot.
Heat the oil over a medium heat in a separate pot.
Add in the uncooked rice and toast it until some of the grains turn golden.
Add in ½ cup of veggie stock and stir.
Keep stirring slowly.
When the liquid is mostly absorbed, add in another ½ cup of veggie stock.
Repeat this process of stirring, absorbing, and adding stock until the rice is soft and creamy.
Add the salt at the end.

Kitchen Equipment
Medium sized Pot for the veggie stock
Medium sized Pot for the risotto (an enameled cast iron pot works best for this)
Ladle
Wooden Spoon to stir the rice
Measuring Cup
Measuring Spoon

Presentation
This recipe is only the base for other risotto recipes, so there is no presentation to speak of.

Time Management
Risottos require constant attention for them to work because the stirring is what creates the creaminess of the rice. Make sure to warm the stock as the warm stock will absorb faster than one at room temperature. Lastly, if you want to be able to walk away from the risotto, you can cook it in a pressure cooker. Saute the rice the same way as above and then add all the ingredients to your pressure cooker and cook it for 7-10 minutes.

Complementary Food and Drinks
The basic risotto recipe is incredibly versatile. It can take classic Italian ingredients like mushrooms and basil. It can take hot Southwestern peppers. It can be mixed with Thai curry paste for good effect and nuts go very well with almost all risotto recipes.

Where to Shop
Arborio rice can be purchased packaged in most grocery markets. However, the best place to get it is in a store that has it in bulk. You’ll get a better price on it and often a store with bulk bins will have an inexpensive organic version of it.

How It Works
Risotto is known for its creaminess and that creaminess is derived from the starch of the rice. Rice has two starches. Amylose and amylopectin. Rices with a high proportion of amylose turn fluffy, while rices with a high proportion of amylopectin, a long chain starchy molecule with lots of protrusions that bind to other amylopectin molecules, turn creamy. Short grain rices, like Aroborio rice, contain higher portions of amylopectin than they do amylose. Stirring the rice slowly knocks off the amylopectin molecules into the stock, where they bind together and create a creamy texture. This is why the stock must be added slowly. If it is added quickly, there is not enough time for the amylopectin to work itself out into the liquid and create that creamy texture. Also, if too much of a volume of liquid is added at once, the amylopectin molecules will disseminate in the liquid and not touch, meaning that they won’t have the opportunity to bind. Sauteeing the rice in oil also retards the absorption of the liquid, which allows the amylopectin more time to bind. This also gives the rice a deeper, nuttier flavor.

Chef’s Notes
Risotto is a bit labor intensive, but it is well worth the effort and time put into it. Keep in mind that it is very filling, so you will not need a lot of it to feed yourself and your guests.

Nutritional Facts (individual servings in parentheses, does not include any options)
Calories 965.2 (482.6)
Calories from Fat 104.8 (52.4)
Fat 11.6g (5.8g)
Total Carbohydrates 193.7g (96.9g)
Dietary Fiber 17.6g (8.8g)
Sugars 13.8g (6.9g)
The Vegan Culinary Experience – Education, Inspiration, Quality * www.veganculinaryexperience.com
Recipe by Chef Jason Wyrick
Protein 21.4g (10.7g)
Salt 1631mg (815.3mg)
Vitamin A 534% (267%)
Vitamin B6 53% (26.5%)
Vitamin C 312% (156%)
Calcium 43% (21.5%)
Iron 143% (71.5%)
Thiamin 87% (43.5%)
Riboflavin 5% (2.5%)
Niacin 71% (35.5%)
Folate 272% (136%)
Phosphorous 19% (9.5%)
Potassium 46% (23%)
Zinc 15% (7.5%)
Magnesium 54% (27%)
Copper 21% (10.5%)

Interesting Facts
Arborio rice is not the only rice used to make Italian risotto. Carnaroli and Vialone Nano are also used.
Risotto is a Northern Italian dish and was the Northern counterpart to the South’s pasta dishes during the past few centuries.