Vegan cauliflower risotto

RISOTTO VEGANO AL CAVOLFIORE CON POMODORI SECCHI E OLIVE TAGGIASCHE

I am a traditionalist, let’s be clear about that. I am one of those that firmly believes that a good risotto needs to be made with butter and cheese. But I am also a chef with an open mind and willing to try different approaches. With this spirit I started to experiment more and more often vegan risotto recipe and as of late I can honestly tell you that I am quite surprised with the results.

Taking away butter and cheese from a risotto is tricky, but if you choose the right recipe with a versatile veg as main ingredient your job will be a lot easier, and you won’t renounce any of the beloved risotto creaminess. And so, for me it was cauliflower.

Without the richness of the cheese I often feel my risotto are naked, and for this reason I always try to add a note of contrast with tangy and acidic ingredients. In this case the olives added a touch of missing umami and the pickled cauliflower worked as contrast.

Serves: 4 // Preparation Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients 

• 380g Arborio risotto rice

• 1 small cauliflower

• 1 onion

• 1 litre of vegetable stock (easily done with the cauliflower trimmings)

• 50ml dry white wine

• 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1 sprig of sage

• 150 ml of dairy free cream alternative

• 60 g of taggiasca black olives

• 80 g of sun-dried tomatoes

• Fresh herbs to garnish

• Salt and pepper (to taste)

 For the pickled cauliflower

• 100 ml of water

• 100 ml of white wine vinegar

• 2 tsp of sugar

• 1 tsp of salt

• 1 tsp of pepper corns

• 1 bay leaf

Preparation

Slice the onion thinly and sweat it in a large pan with a drizzle of oil, a few sage leaves and a pinch of salt. Cook gently until golden and soft (about 6/7 minutes).

Chop the cauliflower roughly but save a piece for the pickled.

In a separate pot of salted boiling water cook the chopped cauliflower until soft. When ready drain directly into the pan with the golden onion and add a ladle of cooking water. Cook together for 5 minutes until everything is well soft and blend until smooth adding the cream alternative. Keep the puree on the side.

Slice the chunk of cauliflower left with a potato peeler into shaves and place it into a bowl. Prepare the pickling liquid by boiling water and vinegar together with salt, sugar, the bay leaf and the peppercorns. Pour the hot liquid over the cauliflower shaves, cover with film and let cool (best if rested overnight). The remaining heat with cook and pickle the thinly sliced cauliflower.

For the risotto. In a large casserole, start to dry toast the rice on low heat with a pinch of salt, without adding oil or fat. In this way, the heat reaches the core of each rice grain resulting in a more uniform al dente rice. Keep stirring the rice, so the rice does not catch on the bottom of the pan or burn. When the rice is very hot, pour the wine in. Let the alcohol evaporate, set the cooking time to 16 minutes (according to the packet’s instruction) and add the simmering stock a ladle at a time, little by little. Stir the rice occasionally, and make sure it is always covered with stock. Keep cooking and do not stir with too much energy as it could break the rice grains.

When halfway through the cooking time, start to add gradually the cauliflower puree. Be aware, you might don’t need all the puree but just the amount to reach a creamy consistency in your risotto (about 2 spoons each portion).

Once the time is up, taste the risotto and if you’re happy with the texture remove it from the heat. If you want the rice a little bit softer, cook for another minute.

This step is called “mantecatura” to make the risotto creamier increasing its natural ooziness with the right gesture and movements but this time without the cheese and butter. Add a couple of spoons of olive oil and stir well to incorporate extra air until the risotto is nice and creamy. At this stage, if the risotto dries up, you can still add a little bit of hot stock. Season to taste.

Plate the hot risotto straight away, and top with olives, sliced sun-dried tomatoes, the pickled cauliflower shaves and a few leaves of fresh herbs like basil, parsley or fennel leaves. Drizzle with olive oil, add a scranch of black pepper and enjoy.