Vegan MoFo – Somewhere in the Rainbow

The final week of Vegan MoFo is here!  I have covered foods of the red, orange, and yellow color persuasions, and I will spend this final week working with foods that cover the rest of the spectrum–blue, purple, black, brown, and white.

So yeah, I’m basically lumping a ton of stuff into one but that’s because there’s only a few days left and I don’t know if a) I could find enough to write about blue foods to fill those days, and b) I don’t want to leave out things like black, brown, and white because I feel like that would be too easy to do.  I love all colors the same and there are some wonderful foods in the neutral tones!

My pancake batter was smiling at me!

It’s actually going to be a pretty busy week for me so I might change up the order that I’ve been following a little bit, i.e. do a recipe roundup early in the week and show you an actual original recipe later.

For today I’m giving you risotto.  Yes, arborio rice is white and pretty.  I was feeling fall-y over the weekend and I had a ton of time on my hands while H was working, so I decided to make something that requires a little extra effort than I’d be prepared to exert on a typical weeknight.

I veganized and slightly adapted this recipe for Carrot and Winter Squash Risotto from The Produce Bible by Leanne Kitchen (I know! I wish my last name was Kitchen).

Ingredients
1/3 cup Earth Balance or other vegan butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 3/4 cup diced winter squash (I used butternut)
2 carrots, diced
8 cups vegetable stock
2 cups arborio rice
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 cup vegan parmesan cheese (I used Go Veggie!)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
(optional) fresh parsley for garnish

Directions
Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan.  Add the onion and saute for 1-2 minutes or until soft.

Add the diced winter squash and carrot and cook for 10 minutes or until tender. Mash slightly with a potato masher.  In a separate stockpot, heat the stock over medium heat and keep the stock at simmering point.

Add the rice to the vegetables and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly, until the grains are translucent. Ladle in 1/2 cup of hot stock and stir well. Reduce the heat and add the stock little by little, stirring constantly for 20-30 minutes, until the rice is tender and creamy.  You may use not all the stock or need to add some water.

Remove from the heat, add the remaining butter, parmesan cheese, nooch, and spices. Season with freshly ground black pepper and stir thoroughly. Cover and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.  Garnish with fresh parsley if desired.

Hope your week is off to a great start!