Today the wind was whipping around like crazy, so some warm comfort food was in order. Tonight it was another favorite in our household; this recipe comes from Veganomicon--it is fabulous. It has amazing flavors with the blending of the lemongrass, basil, mint, asparagus, lime juice, and peanuts. This recipe takes a little longer than your usual risotto because it requires making your own lemongrass and vegetable broth plus sauteing the asparagus, basil and mint together before even starting with the rice stirring process. But, it's worth it! I left out the called-for shallots, mine were moldy, and subbed Pinot Grigio for sherry (I always make sure I have a cheap bottle of red and white wine around for cooking; no matter how cheap it is 2-buck Chuck just isn't worth it though--blech)
When making risotto it's important to stir, stir, stir. I just turn something on the TV and stir while I watch (tonight it happened to be Tool Academy; I know, I know, but it's a guilty pleasure). Below is a picture of how I keep my area set up while I'm stirring. I keep the broth to the back of the rice pan, set to low so it stays warm. To the right (I'm right-handed), I keep a measuring cup for adding broth. I keep the measuring cup in a larger container so the counter doesn't get all messy.
It takes about 35-45 minutes to stir all the broth in and get the rice to the correct consistency, then you can dig in!
This sounds delicious. I really need to pick Veganomicon up.
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