This creamy, dreamy, and fresh spring 3 Herb and Lemon Vegan Risotto will make you want to sit a bit longer and savor every bite.
Risotto, yo! Super creamy, rich, and fragrant Arborio rice that’s cooked slowly, until it’s plump and perfectly chewy. The cashew cream sauce is flavored with fresh sage, oregano, basil, and lemon juice. When it’s added to the rice, it creates the creamiest risotto. This stuff is so good!
I made 3 herb risotto for Easter dinner for my family yesterday. It was lovely, so lovely that I wanted to share the recipe with you this week. As I was chopping the herbs, and snacking on roasted cashews (a girl has to eat), I had one of those light bulb moments Oprah used to talk about. Why not blend the herbs in a cashew cream sauce with lemon juice, to add even more creaminess and flavor to an already delicious recipe? Why I hadn’t thought of that yesterday, I don’t know? It was really a shame that I hadn’t, because this new and improved sage, oregano, and basil risotto is bravissimo!
How to Make Creamy Herb and Lemon Vegan Risotto
You’ll want to make sure that you have the cashew cream sauce ready to go before you begin to cook the risotto.
The secret to making the perfect risotto is patience. It takes time for Arborio rice to cook. It takes a lot of stirring, adding broth, stirring, and adding broth until the rice is firm and chewy. You don’t want it to be hard in the center, and you don’t want it to be too soft. It should have a nice bite to it.
I start the process by adding the uncooked rice to hot olive oil and stirring to coat. Cook it for a minute in the oil and then add the first cup of broth and stir it up. Now keep stirring, don’t stop. You don’t want the rice to scorch. Which reminds me, make sure to cook it on a low heat setting on your stove. As the broth begins to soak into the rice, add a half cup of broth and keep on stirring. Continue stirring and adding broth by the half cup for another 40 to 50 minutes. To make the time go faster, open the wine and have a glass. After you’ve added all of the broth, it’s time to stir in the wine and stir until the rice absorbs it. The last step is to put all of the cashew cream in the risotto and fold it in until it’s completely combined.
If you have some vegan parmesan, go ahead and sprinkle some on top and garnish with some herbs.
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3 Herbs and Lemon Vegan Risotto
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp 15 ml extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 cups 960 ml vegetable broth
- 1 cup 200 g uncooked Arborio rice
- 1 cup 240 ml white wine
- 1 tbsp 2.6 g coarsely chopped fresh sage
- 1 tbsp 2.6 g coarsely chopped fresh oregano
- 2 tbsp 5 g coarsely chopped fresh basil
- 1 tbsp 5 g nutritional yeast (NOT brewers or rising yeast)
- ¼ cup 60 ml fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1/3 cup 80 ml unsweetened cashew or almond milk
- 1 tsp ground sea salt
- Black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Soak the cashews in boiling water for at least 4 hours, or until they turn puffy and soft.
- Drain and rinse the cashews and put them in a high-powered blender. Add the fresh herbs, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, plant milk, salt, and pepper, and blend on a high setting for approximately 2 minutes, or until you get a smooth and creamy sauce.
- In a medium saucepan, bring the vegetable broth to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer.
- In a large risotto pan or saucepan, heat the oil on medium heat and cook the garlic for 1 minute, add the rice and stir to coat in the oil, cook for one minute while stirring constantly. Add 1 cup (240 ml) of broth and reduce the heat to low, stir constantly. Continue to add a ½ cup (120 ml) of the broth at a time as the previous broth evaporates. Stir constantly to avoid scorching. By the time you’ve added all of the broth, the rice should have tripled in size. Add the wine and stir constantly until it soaks into the rice. Add the cream sauce and stir until combined. Cook for a few more minutes, or until the sauce is warmed through.
- Because cashew cream tends to dry out quickly, eat it as soon as it’s made. Reheat leftovers in a microwave for best results. Enjoy!
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