Roasted Vegetable Risotto

Creamy risotto with lovely roasted vegetables and fresh, flavourful basil pesto.

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: vegetable risotto

Servings:

Add fresh basil, almonds, hard cheese, pressed garlic clove and lemon juice to a food processor or blender. Process until smooth. With the motor still running, pour in the olive oil and process for 10-20 seconds longer. Add a pinch of salt if needed.

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Spread the vegetables on a shallow roasting pan and coat with olive oil and season with salt. Roast in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Chop into bitesize chunks before adding to the risotto.

Heat a large pan or wide pot over medium heat and pour in 2 tbsp of olive oil. Chop the celery and onions finely and sauté for 10 minutes.
Add arborio rice and sauté while stirring so the rice is evenly coated with the olive oil, for about 1 minute. Pour in the white wine and stir until it has completely evaporated. Scrape the bottom to release the brown bits into the broth. Allow it to simmer over low heat for 2 or 3 minutes.
Add the vegetable stock and give it a good stir, leave to cook. The stock should be just above the rice when you first add it. Once you see the stock going down add a bit more and stir. Make sure the stock is nearly absorbed into the rice before adding more stock. Repeat until all the stock is gone and the rice is cooked but still slightly chewy.
Once the rice is cooked and the risotto has a creamy consistency, cut up the roasted asparagus and green beans into small pieces and add to the rice. Stir to combine. Then drizzle a few tablespoons of basil pesto all over and give it another stir. Serve with more pesto on the side for people to use if they wish.

- Unlike other types of rice, it's important not to rinse risotto rice before cooking. Rinsing the rice will remove much of the starch, which is necessary for really creamy risotto.

- Don't forget to add the stock gradually and stir regularly while cooking to achieve creamy risotto.

- Choose a wine that is dry, avoiding anything sweet. Dry vermouth is also an option.

- Any roasted vegetables can be used in this recipe, which allows you to use whatever is in season.

- Almonds or cashews can be used in the pesto instead of pine nuts. And always taste test before serving to make sure it has enough garlic, lemon juice and salt.

- If you aren’t confident with making risotto, let me walk you through how to make the perfect risotto with this video. Or read through my top risotto-making tips in this article.