Baked Risotto

A cool-weather “slow food,” risotto, a creamy rice dish made with Arborio rice (available in the rice section of supermarkets and Italian groceries) is a classic Italian comfort food. Traditionally, it’s made by cooking the rice on the stovetop, ladling in hot broth and stirring almost constantly. An easier route to this wonderful dish is to simply combine the basic ingredients in a deep casserole dish and bake, giving it a good stir every 15 minutes until done (the entire process takes an hour). Adapted from The Vegetarian Family Cookbook.

Serves: 4 to 6

• 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
• 32-ounce carton vegetable broth, preferably low-sodium
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, very finely minced
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Combine the rice with the broth, 1 cup water, and the garlic in a two-quart casserole dish. Cover and bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. At the third stirring, stir in one more cup of water. When done, the rice should have a tender and creamy texture.

Season with salt and pepper, then let the risotto stand, covered,  for 5 minutes before serving.

VARIATIONS:
Here are some wonderful ways to dress up individual portions of risotto. You can stir these additions into the risotto once it’s baked, or use them as toppings. Try some ideas of your own; it’s hard to go wrong!

• Wilted spinach or Swiss chard (chopped) and dried tomatoes
• Sautéed zucchini, red pepper, and herbs
• Finely diced baked winter squash, sautéed red onion, and toasted walnuts
• Sautéed leeks and chopped imported black olives
• Roasted eggplant and Italian-style stewed tomatoes
• Steamed asparagus and wilted chopped spinach or whole baby spinach leaves
• Grated  mozzarella-style nondairy cheese

• Find more of VegKitchen’s Vegan Dinner Recipes and more Casseroles And Other Comfort Foods.
• Browse more of VegKitchen’s vegan casserole recipes.