Vegan Lemon Asparagus Risotto
A rich, creamy and cheesy Vegan Lemon Asparagus Risotto made with a vibrant basil-asparagus purée, dry white wine and miso butter.
Servings: 6 people
Equipment
- High speed blender
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons vegan butter
- 2 tablespoons white miso
- 1 bunch asparagus
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 3 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin, plus additional for garnish
- 1 shallot peeled and minced
- 2 leeks cleaned* and chopped
- 6 garlic cloves peeled and minced
- ½ cup fresh basil packed, plus additional for garnish
- 2 lemons
- ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 cup arborio rice
- ½ cup dry white wine*
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper plus additional for garnish
Instructions
- Remove the vegan butter and miso paste from the fridge. Measure out 4 tablespoons of vegan butter and 2 tablespoons of miso paste, scooping them into a medium bowl. Let sit on the counter to soften while you move onto the next step. When soft, use a fork to mix the butter and miso paste together.
- Cut the fibrous ends off of the asparagus. You can tell where the fibrous ends are by testing one piece of asparagus using this method: use your fingers to break off the bottom end. Then slice the remaining asparagus to roughly the same spot as your test piece. Toss the fibrous ends. Slice the asparagus tops off—the pretty ends! Set these off to the side. Cut the remaining asparagus into 1-inch pieces. Measure 2 cups of asparagus (not including the pretty ends). Add the remaining asparagus to the pile of pretty ends.
- Fill a small pot of water halfway and add the 2 cups of asparagus. Bring to a boil. Blanch the asparagus for 3 minutes over medium-high heat until they are bright green. Reserve 1 cup of cooking liquid, then drain the asparagus. Add the blanched asparagus and the 1 cup of cooking liquid to a blender.
- Heat the vegetable broth in a medium saucepan. Be careful not to boil the broth, but get it hot. Once hot, reduce the heat to low to keep it warm.
- Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a large soup pot and bring to medium heat. Once warm, add the shallot, leek, and garlic. Cook for 3 minutes until the aromatics begin to turn translucent, then reduce the heat to low. While cooking, move on to step 6.
- While the aromatics are cooking, make the purée. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the fresh basil, juice from 1 lemon, and the nutritional yeast to the blender with the asparagus and cooking liquid. Blend on high until smooth.
- By now the miso butter should be room temp and easy to mix together. Add the miso butter to the soup pot and stir. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the rice to the pot and stir to combine. Add the wine, continuing to stir as you bring the heat to medium. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Use a ladle to scoop out warm vegetable broth and add it to the soup pot. Turn the heat to medium high and stir. Once the rice has absorbed the liquid, add an additional ladle of broth to the pot. Stir every 30 seconds or so. When the liquid is absorbed you'll add another ladle of broth and continue this process until all of the broth is added. The entire process should take about 20 minutes. When adding the last ladle of broth, toss in the remaining asparagus. When the risotto is done it should be slightly firm and creamy, not soft or mushy. With the asparagus added, cook for 5 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium and stir in the basil-asparagus purée. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Be careful not to burn. After about 2 minutes, reduce the heat to low.
- Turn off the heat. Add juice from the remaining lemon and stir in the salt and pepper. Taste and adjust for additional salt or pepper if needed. The texture will appear liquidy at first, but once cooled for a few minutes the texture will be just right!
- Serve immediately with a drizzle of olive oil, freshly chopped basil, and cracked black pepper.
Notes
- Leeks tend to be really dirty. To best clean them, peel away the outermost layers and then slice the white and light green ends. Add them to a bowl of filtered water and use your hands to wash away any dirt. Pull them out of the water and set on a paper towel to dry.
- You can swap out the white wine for additional vegetable broth, or simply leave it out and add a splash of white wine vinegar to achieve the same acidic flavor.