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italian

The Ultimate Creamy Vegan Green Risotto with Caramelised Onions

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Risotto but vegan? Yes!! A creamy, healthy and vegan deliciousness? Hell yes!! Pure comfort food but nutritious and fairly easy to make! Sounds too good? Try it out! You won’t be disappointed!

I know that risotto usually is not vegan. But that does not mean that you cannot make it vegan!! Actually opposite, why not challenge ourselves to create a vegan risotto instead? That’s what I thought! And this is why you now have got this (super delicious) recipe! 

What is special about this dish? 

Kind of pretty much everything. Risotto usually contains parmesan cheese and butter. And is not green. Well, of course you can make it green because you can basically add anything into risotto, from prawns to wild garlic, porcini mushrooms and beetroot. But I have to say, I have never seen a green risotto before! 

How to make vegan risotto 

The rise base is the same as for regular risotto. So (vegetable) broth, onions, olive oil and arborio rice, also known as risotto rice. Instead of the cheese and butter to create the creamy texture we are using soaked cashews for the texture, nutritional yeast for the cheesy flavor (also known as Hefeflocken in German, you can find that at most organic stores), cornstarch to bind, plant based milk, and mustard. Not to forget about the greens. I prefer a mixture of steamed spinach and kale and basil. The first two add a bunch of nutrients and the basil adds a lot of flavor. The combination is a dream. And also, to not make the risotto be boring we add some extra caramelized onions. 

Is it healthy? 

Yes! It actually is. While regular risotto is not very healthy (but very delicious), this one actually is healthy too! Why? The greens add a lot of vitamins and fibre. But the aspect that really changes it is the substitution of the cheese and butter with the creamy sauce. The cashews add some protein and unsaturated fats, which are better for us than unsaturated ones. Also the nutritional yeast adds a lot of nutrients! So yes, it is healthy! And a comfort food at the same time!! 

Meal prep and family friendly

A tick for both of them! It is very meal prep friendly because it still tastes at least as good when reheated! It will be creamy again and very good! What I also love is that it is very family friendly! If someone really cannot go without meat or seafood, it still is possible to add some form of meat of fish! And for those who just want some plant-based deliciousness it is perfect as is!

I really am in love with this recipe on colder days especially now in fall or in winter! It is super comforting while still being super nutritious and delicious! Plus, it is not very hard to make while it sounds, looks and tastes pretty fancy in my opinion! 

I hope that you will enjoy this recipe as much as I do and that it will upgrade your cozy season a lot! 

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The Ultimate Creamy Vegan Green Risotto with Caramelised Onions

A healthy creamy deliciousness. At least as good as regular risotto just healthy and vegan.

Course dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Cook Time 20 Minuten
Servings 4 servings
Calories 525 kcal

What you will need

  • 280 g risotto rice
  • 2 l vegetable broth
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 white onion

For the creamy sauce

  • 50 g cashew nuts (soaked for 4 hours if your blender is not high speed)
  • 160 ml plant based milk
  • 2 tsp mustard
  • 4 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • 2 handful spinach
  • 2 handful kale
  • 1 handful basil

For the rest:

  • 2 small red onions
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp honey

How to

  1. Heat up the vegetable broth. In a large pot heat up the olive oil. Finely dice the onion and add to the oil once hot. Sautée for about 1 minute until shiny. Add the rice and cook for another minute. Turn the heat down to medium and add a cup of the vegetable broth. Let the rice soak up all of the vegetable broth added while stiring continuesly. When it has cooked away, repeat the process for about 12 minutes.

  2. In the meantime steam or cook the spinach and kale for 4 minutes. Add them to a blender along with the cashews. plant milk, nutritional yeast, mustard, basil and cornstarch. Blend until creamy.

  3. In a pan heat up the remaining oil. Slice the red onions into thin slices. Add them to the oil with the honey. Let them cook down on medium high heat until they have shrunken down and gotten caramelized.

  4. After about 12 minutes of the rice cooking add the green sauce and the onions. Mix through very well and cook for another 3-4 minutes until the rice is cooked through.

  5. Seperate onto plates and serve with some extra nutritional yeast! Enjoy!

Happy cooking,
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière 

Tomato white wine pasta with pistachio breadcrumbs

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I am gonna be honest. This is addicting! A creamy, fresh, quick, full of flavor and so many nutrients! You won‘t go back to store bought pasta sauces! Plus, its dairy free and vegan because we are topping it with pistachio breadcrumbs. You are NOT missing the parmesan in top! All in all it is just so tasty!

Is Pasta unhealthy?

I honestly love pasta, and despite all rumors it is not unhealthy. Well, at least not as is because it is a great source of carbohydrates. If you make wholegrain pasta, it is even healthier because you get an extra portion of fiber with it! But yes, just as everything else it can be prepared really unhealthy. Not the actual pasta itself but the sauce it comes with. If ypu use a very oil heavy or cream, cheese or butter based sauce such as alfredo or carbonara or one with fatty meat like bacon or salami, it can load up on calories and fats really quickly. But when you pair it with a rather light sauce like a tomato one or one with fresh vegetables it is not unhealthy at all! Also pesto is a good choice. I mean, yes it has cheese but it also has oil, nuts and fresh basil. Oil and nuts are high in healthy fats and fresh basil has so many vitamins!

What is special about this dish?

100% the sauce! Why? Because it is not your regular tomato sauce. And by „white wine tomato sauce“ I don‘t mean that you poor half a bottle if wine into your regular sauce (although this would probably also be super tasty :)). No, its a sauce made of only fresh tomatoes – of all sizes and colors, a good splash of white wine and lots if fresh herbs. And of corse, not to forget the pistachio breadcrumbs. They just take it next level!

Which tomatoes work best for this dish?

I believe that a mix of many different ones work best! A mix of large ones, cherry tomatoes or san Marzanl works best. Also, if you have access to it or can find them, feel free to add yellow, orange or brown tomatoes. The more you add, the more of a diverse, intense and interesting flavor and many different textures! So, use whatever you have on hand! The more different ones you have, the better!

Which wine works best?

As the name says, white wine! This can be a fruitier one or one that is rather on the dry side. This is up to you and what you like to drink! My dad always says „use a wine for cooking that you will also drink with the dish“. So use a good and tasty wine because you will also taste it in the sauce. It is as important to use a good quality product in a dish as it is to drink it. You could, however, also use some sparkling wine because the carbon dioxide will cook down anyway. If you only have red wine on hand, you can use this too but be aware that this will make it more of a heavier dish whereas the white wine makes it rather lighter.

Pistachio breadcrumbs?! What and how?

I have never eaten that before. Neither at a restaurant not at someone’s home! But it is game changing. I know, we all love some parmesan on top of our pasta, but if we are longing for a dairy-free, healthier and vegan option, this is amazing! And so simple. 3 ingredients and addicting! The only ingredients you really need are pistachios (whole grain) bread crumbs, and olive oil. The pistachios are chopped finely and mixed with the breadcrumbs. After they are pan fried in some olive oil to get them crispy and bring out the flavor. If you want a slight cheesy flavor, you can also add in some nutritional yeast (Hefeflocken) if you want but it definitely is not necessary! When putting them on top of the pasta, the add a nice crunch and texture and also some saltines as cheese would do! You need to try this! I swear it is so good!

Is it family friendly?

Yes! 100%! You do add wine, but the alcohol boils away, so even kids can eat it! And it is vegan (if you use vegan pasta of corse) but if you want to add some parmesan or mozzarella on top you of course can do so! Ir if you want some prawns of grilled chicken with it, it works as well. Plus, it is less than 30 minutes, so it‘s a great weeknight dinner!

We absolutely love having this dish in pur house and make it pretty often! Its super tasty, simple, and full of vitamins! I hope that it gives you some inspiration to cook something healthy & tasty!

Happy cooking,
Katie || Une Petite Cuisinière

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Tomato White Wine Pasta with Pistachio Bread Crumbs

Quick, simple, healthy, tasty. Fancier than your average tomato sauce, full of vitamins, 30 minute and tastes so incredibly good!

Course bowl, dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 5 Minuten
Cook Time 25 Minuten
Total Time 30 Minuten
Servings 4 servings
Calories 627 kcal

What you will need

For the tomato sauce:

  • 400 g tomatoes large ones, can be any color
  • 300 g cherry tomatoes or any other small ones, it is best to mix the colors
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 white onion
  • 1/8 l white wine
  • 1 tsp chili flakes (optional)
  • 2 small branches rosemary and oregano
  • 1 garlic clove grated
  • 1/2 lemon juiced

For the pistachio breadcrumbs:

  • 20 g pistachios
  • 20 g breadcrumbs
  • 1 tsp olive oil

Other:

  • 500 g Pasta tagliatelle work best

How to

For the tomato sauce:

  1. Chop the large tomatoes into about 1cm sized cubes. Half the cherry tomatoes. Finely mince the onion. In a large pot heat up the olive oil. Add the onion and sautée it until it is translucent. Then add in the chopped tomatoes and reduce to medium high heat. Also add the herbs and the garlic clove (and the chili flakes if using) into the pot and give it a stir. Add the white wine and let simmer for about 10 minutes on medium heat. Then add the lemon juice and salt generously and let simmer for another 10 minutes on low heat. Before serving take out the herbs.

For the Pistachio Breadcrumbs:

  1. In the meantime make the pistachio breadcrumbs. Therefore add the pistachios to a food processor and pulse until they have gotten a fine consistency. If you do not have a food processor, chop them up with a knife. Combine them with the breadcrumbs. heat up the olive oil in a pan and fry the mixture on high heat for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly so they do not burn. Take them off the heat and set them aside.

  2. In the meantime cook the pasta according to package instructions. Once done reserve 1/2 cup (about 100ml) of pasta water and drain them. Add the drained pasta, along with the reserved water to the sauce and mix through. Seperate them onto 4 plates and top with the pistachio breadcrumbs and serve.

    Enjoy!

Best Cauliflower and Parmesan salad with Parsley vinaigrette

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Nothing beats a good side to go along with any meal. Adds the extra wow and takes anything to the next level. Just like this cauliflower and Parmesan salad. Its one of these non- boring but super easy sides that you will start wanting to make with everything.

I git the inspiration for this dish when I was out eating at a restaurant in Dubai. I order a side, a veggie salad and something really similar to this recipe arrive, and it was bomb amazing. I knew I had to recreate it but at first I wondered if anyone else would like it because I have a taste for very healthy things that barely anyone likes but my family loved it too! They enjoyed the recreation even more. 

Salads are always a great side dish, i believe. They are light, refreshing, and full  of vitamins. Just as this salad is, just without the greens. And it will even get people who don‘t enjoy eating vegetables a lot, to eat it because the parmesan in the dish really turns everything around. It does not taste super healthy anymore. 

And let me tell you so much, it is ready in 5 minutes. At least if you have a food processor, if you don‘t then you probably need 10. yes, it is that simple. You can just prepare it while your fish is sizzling in the pan or somethings roasting in the oven. The making, essentially is, cutting the cauliflower into really fine chunks, or pulse it in the food processor because it will save you a lot of time. Other, you simply need to grate some parmesan cheese and chop it even a bit smaller, finely chop some parsley and combine the ingredients for the vinaigrette. And its done. 

This „salad“ goes best with a simple main dish. A baked fish or a grilled chicken breast or anything Italian inspired because the cheese in the cauliflower salad matches the Italian spices a lot. Surprisingly, it even gies well with some asian inspired dishes such as my steamed salmon in chili lime sauce. It really works with most dishes, but these are the ones I would recommend! 

It also works for meal prep if you want to prepare it ahead of time and enjoy it throughout the week! Just, do not add the vinaigrette before, only when you want to eat it because otherwise it will get soggy and wont taste as good anymore! 

I hope that you will enjoy this recipe and make it oftentimes because it really is that good! 

Enjoy,

Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

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Best Cauliflower and Parmesan Salad with Parsley Vinaigrette

Not your average side but much better. fresh cauliflower, hearty parmesan cheese, light and herby vinaigrette. Goes perfect with anything. A must.

Course Appetizer, Salad, Side Dish
Prep Time 5 Minuten
Total Time 5 Minuten
Servings 4 sides
Calories 142 kcal

What you will need

  • 1 head cauliflower
  • 40 g parmesan cheese
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 large lemon, juiced
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley

How to

That is how it works:

  1. Cut the cauliflower into small florets. If you have a food processor, place them in it and pulse until they are fine chunks. If you do not have one, finely chop them into rice-sized pieces and place them in a large bowl.

  2. Grate the parmesan on the rather large side. Then roughly chop it again, to also reach the size of the rice corn. Add it to the cauliflower and generously salt.

  3. In a small bowl combine the olive oil, parsley, honey and lemon juice. Toss the "salad" in the dressing.

    Serve in bowls and enjoy!

Wild Garlic Risotto

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Food tastes different when you have a relation to it. Like in this recipe. We went for a Sunday walk and my mom and I picked the wild garlic ourselves and cooked it into this delicious risotto for lunch. It makes you worship the ingredients, taste and work you put in it even more, which is so beautiful.

But I know we do not alway have the time or opportunity to go and pick the ingredients ourselves in the park or the woods, so it definitely is fine if you buy it at a fresh farmers market or even at the super market. But it will not totally taste the same as if you picked it yourself.

Risotto is such a must and a weekend meal in our house! We love to make it various ways. With peas, with mushrooms, with saffron, honestly options are endless. But it is spring, and right now almost everywhere in Austria you can find wild garlic and smell it from several meters apart. So we decided to take a walk and pick some ourselves and take it home.

Risotto actually is way less complicated than it might seem at first sight. It just is a lot of stirring, stirring, and stirring. No joke, it is an arm workout. So if you are currently in quarantine and wanting to work out and cook something good, here you have the perfect combination! The stirring makes it possible for the rice to absorb the liquid slowly and in depth to create a more intense flavour and a super creamy texture. You should not add all of the broth at one time because then the rice will become soggy and not creamy, which we do not want.

Also, the ingredients are pretty simple and you most likely have them all at home. It starts with the base: rice. For risotto, there is special type of rice, which is originally used in Italy. You can find it in any supermarket. The other main contents of this dish are broth and cheese. For the broth you can either use vegetable broth or chicken broth. Vegetable for the vegetarian version, chicken if you want more flavour.

After the cooking process is done, in other words the rice has finished cooking, we take it off the heat to stir in the remains ingredients. These are a mix of butter, grated parmesan cheese, cream cheese and of course the chopped wild garlic. The butter adds a lot of flavour and the cheeses melt into the rice giving it the typical risotto texture.

You can either serve it as it is because it is the perfect dish like that. If you want to serve it as a side with some grilled prawns or roasted beef that works perfectly fine too! Just grate some fresh parmesan on top and serve it with some wild garlic leaves.

This is such a comforting and family friendly meal. Perfect weekend lunch or dinner, super versatile and incredibly good. I hope you all like it and will enjoy cooking and eating it!

Love, Katie // One Petite Cuisinière

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Wild Garlic Risotto

Family friendly, spring viby, super creamy and delicious risotto. Weekend meal plans are saved. With fresh wild garlic and creamy rice this is incredibly delicious.

Course bowl, dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 5 Minuten
Cook Time 20 Minuten
Total Time 25 Minuten
Servings 4 servings
Calories 509 kcal

What you will need

That is what you need:

  • 1,5 l vegetable broth
  • 320 g Risotto rice
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 white onion
  • 50 g wild garlic
  • 25 g butter
  • 45 g cream cheese
  • 80 g parmesan cheese

How to

This is how it works:

  1. Finely dice the onion. Heat up the oil and satuée the onion in it until it is glassy. Add the rice and gently stir through until everything is combined and slightly covered with the oil. Take one large ladle of the vegetable broth and add it to the rice. Reduce the heat to medium high and stir the vegetable broth through until everything has cooked into the rice, then add the next laddle.

  2. Repeat until the rice is cooked through, for about 15-20 minutes.

  3. In the meantime grate the parmesan, measure out the other ingredients and chop the wild garlic.

  4. Once the rice is done cooking, take it off the heat and stir the cheeses, the butter and the wild garlic in.

  5. Once everything is well combined, plate it in four bowls, garnish with some extra parmesan cheese and wild garlic.

    Serve and enjoy!