Healthy Coconut & Mushroom Risotto

A healthy twist on a comfort food classic - this vegan mushroom and coconut risotto uses coconut milk and warming spices to achieve all the flavor and richness of a classic risotto.

Risotto makes me happy. What's not to love about a dish that combines creaminess and carbs? I love making this on chilly winter nights, when you really want to cozy up next to a fire with some warm, rich, creamy comfort food.

This coconut and mushroom risotto uses coconut milk instead of butter/cheese/cream to give it its creaminess. In addition, it uses cardamom and ginger which adds a nice depth and warmth. The perfect topping is a sprinkle on some of my Vegan "Parmesan" Cashew Cheese.

The Secret To A Good Risotto

This coconut and mushroom risotto is quite easy, and follows the same preparation as a regular risotto. The secret ingredient to a good risotto is time and attention to a few preparation techniques.

1. First, cook any veggies or meat to be added to the risotto, unless you want them to retain a lot of their texture. This is the case for the snow peas in this recipe.
2. Next, add all your liquids together in a sauce pot, bring it to a boil, then immediately take it down to a simmer and keep it there. You want warm liquid to add to the rice.
3. Then, add the liquid to the rice slowly. Wait until all the previously added liquid has been absorbed by the rice before you add more. Stir enough to incorporate everything and to keep it from sticking while cooking - but do not over stir it. This adds unnecessary air bubbles.
4. Always cook the risotto on a medium to medium-low temp. You want to give that rice time to absorb the liquid, not evaporate it off!
5. Lastly, use short grain rice. Arborio or bomba work well. Short grain rice will give that sticky risotto texture, and absorb all that liquid! Make sure to only cook the rice to al dente, similar to pasta.

Home Cook Substitutions:

At MHC, I encourage you to tweak recipes to fit your needs/ what you have in the kitchen. This is the beauty of being a home cook - improvisation. There is no right or wrong way to cook at home! In this dish, you can swap out the veggies for your favorites or whatever you have on hand. Good substitutions are: golden beets ( add at the end to avoid color change), carrots, asparagus, zucchini, green beans, leeks.

For additional protein: add chicken, tofu, garbanzo beans, cashews. Just be sure to pre-cook your protein to your liking, and add it in at the end.

Healthy Coconut & Mushroom Risotto

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• Author: Emily Marrs
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 minutes
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 ½ cup arborio or short grain rice
• 3 cups vegetable broth (bouillon cubes or *)
• 2 cups mushrooms (white or crimini) (sliced)
• 1 cup snowpeas (cut in half)
• ½ cup peas (I use frozen - fresh or canned work too)
• 1 inch ginger (minced)
• 5 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 tsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp cardamon powder
• ½ tsp coriander powder
• ¼-½ tsp kosher salt (to taste)
• 1/2 - 1 cup water

To Serve

• lemon slices (squeeze onto risotto)
• parsley
• Cashew “Parmesan” Cheese

Instructions

1. To start, bring veggie broth, coconut milk, garlic, ginger, sugar and spices to boil in small saucepan. Once boiling, turn off heat.
2. Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook 5-6 minutes until soft and turning brown. 
3. Add rice and stir to coat, toast the rice for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
4. Add 1 cup warm broth mixture and stir to combine. Keeping mixture on medium low heat, stir rice frequently (but do not over-stir) until all of the broth is absorbed into the rice. 
5. Once absorbed, keep adding liquid in ½ cup increments, waiting until all the liquid added has been absorbed before adding more. Keep stirring and adding liquid until all the liquid is gone.
6. When you add the last of the broth, add the snow peas and peas and continue to cook. Check to see if the rice is finished, it should be tender but still have a little bite. If the rice isn't ready yet, add ½ cup of warm water at a time until rice is ready (al dente).
7. To get rice al dente, you may have to cook it for another 5-7 minutes. Use your taste and senses to decide when rice is al dente. If you have to keep cooking the rice, stir in ¼ cup of warm water occasionally to keep rice from sticking to the pan.
8. Adjust salt to taste, and serve with parsley,  Cashew “Parmesan” Cheese and a squeeze of lemon!

Notes

*1.5 tbsp of my Vegetable Broth Powder

The trick to risotto is to slow add warm liquid to the rice, letting all the liquid absorb before adding more. Doing this while stirring the rice helps to evenly cook and coat the rice and yields a yummy risotto!

Lasts in fridge one week.

^ Add grilled chicken, tofu, or garbanzo beans for some added protein.