Vegetable Risotto, a Quick One-pan Dinner

thelatebloomer | May 30, 2013 | 6 Replies

Vegetable risotto, a quick one-pan dinner, is a dish I reach for after a long work day. If you grow your own veggies, it makes it super easy to have the freshest dinner possible. And it only takes 20 minutes!

Organic Vegetable Risotto with Homegrown Veggies

Organic Vegetable Risotto

Ingredients

2 TBL organic safflower or olive oil

1 small to medium yellow (or green) zucchini squash

6-8 green or burgundy beans (I used Royal Burgundy,* grown from Botanical Interests seeds)

1 small onion or scallion, chopped

1 small bunch oyster mushrooms, sliced

1 cup organic Arborio rice

1 cup organic broth, vegetable, beef or chicken

1 cup water, approximate

Grated raw parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Basil leaves for garnish

Directions

In a deep iron skillet, on medium heat, saute the chopped onion in heated oil for 2 minutes, add rice and stir till hot. Add broth, which should sizzle the rice when it hits the pan, stir. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook and stir occasionally. Add water in increments as it is absorbed into the rice. While rice is cooking, chop veggies to desired size. After 10-15 minutes, depending how crispy you want your veggies, add zucchini, beans and mushrooms, add remaining water and stir. Mixture should thicken. Taste rice for doneness. When rice is soft, remove from heat, and water should mostly be absorbed. Stir as it cools. Add salt and pepper, as desired. Add grated cheese and basil leaves. Makes 3-4 servings.

I grew the onion, zucchini, beans and basil. The mushrooms came from Farm Fresh to You. I realized I could not provide all the vegetables we would need from my front yard and purchase a weekly CSA (Community Sponsored Agriculture) box. I buy unpasteurized cheeses. The bowl is Tufglas, 1930’s depression uranium glass. Supposedly, it glows green under a black light. I purchased it from April’s Attic, Centerville, TN. The cotton napkin was tie-dyed expressly for me by my dear friend Cherie.

• Burgundy beans turn green when cooking.

Thanks for stopping by! What’s growing in your garden that you are eating? – Kaye

Tags: biodiversity, curbside gardening, do-it-yourself, farming on small scale, gardening, gardening web series, green your world, growing your own vegetables, Kaye Kittrell, Kaye Kittrell Late Bloomer, Late Bloomer, organic, urban gardening, vegetables

Category: Recipes, Urban Gardening, Vegetables

Comments (6)

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amy says:

May 31, 2013 at 10:09 am

Apparently dandelion leaves 🙂 That looks so good.

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- thelatebloomer says:
  
  May 31, 2013 at 1:00 pm
  
  Hahaha! I DID see some dandelion leaves when there! You can eat those in a salad or quickly wilt them in a pan. Throw in some pine nuts, squeeze a little fresh orange, a splash of raw olive oil. Yummm!
  
  Reply
gardenengineer says:

June 6, 2013 at 12:09 pm

Looks delicious.

The great thing about risotto is that once you’ve got the basic recipe down–aromatics, rice, and broth followed by olive oil and/or grated cheese–you can put just about anything in at the end.

One of my favorites is fresh corn risotto, a perfect late-summer dish (one I first had at Moose’s in San Francisco).

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- thelatebloomer says:
  
  June 6, 2013 at 12:37 pm
  
  So, true, Andy! Always worth having a bag of risotto in the pantry!
  
  Reply
sippitysup says:

June 7, 2013 at 9:23 am

I long for a garden. GREG

Reply
- thelatebloomer says:
  
  June 7, 2013 at 9:48 am
  
  Greg, let me help you get started! Buy a pot, some good potting soil, plant something, anything, stick it in the sun and water it. Before you know it, you will be buying more pots. If you download my free ebook, there are some suggestions on getting started in there even if you don’t have a yard. Keep me posted on your progress!
  
  Reply