Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Faux Risotto

Also know as: brown rice with chives. Risotto's great, but sometimes I can't stand in front of the stove for thirty minutes straight. Sometimes, someone decides to act like he's on crack and do his weird "dog talk" thing where he follows me around the condo not quite barking, and not quite wimpering, but sounding like a pig being slaughtered. I really need to capture it on video sometime for you all (well, all three of you).

Aborio rice, which is what is used to make authentic risotto, can be expensive and hard to find. I love it; I really do, but even with the tax return I can't go spending all my cash-money on aborio rice, I need the cheap stuff, the hearty stuff -- I need brown rice. But! I want it to taste like risotto. This recipe isn't going to fool your Everyday Italian, but its texture and creaminess fooled my Irish-Lithuanian palate. This was your typical risotto-style rice dish, until the chives were added; they really add a nice flavor.

Brown Rice with Chives, or Faux Risotto (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan)

3 Tablespoons olive oil (or butter)
1 small onion, diced
1/2 cup carrots, diced
1 cup brown rice
3 1/2 cups vegetable stock (I had homemade on hand, so I used that)
1/2 cups chopped chives, save some for garnish

In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, add two tablespoons of the olive oil. Once the oil gets hot, add the onion and carrots, reducing the heat to medium low. Cook for about ten minutes until translucent. Next, add the brown rice and stir to coat in the olive oil. Add the vegetable stock and turn heat to high and briefly bring to a boil, then simmer over medium-low heat for thirty minutes, or until most of the liquid is gone. Add the chives and the rest of the olive oil. Mix well. Garnish with the rest of the chives and serve (with grilled chicken over spinach and a dijon mustard dressing, like below).


7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Both dishes look amazing! I, too, find risotto sometimes not worth the effort. I've noticed that if you bake brown rice with just a little too much liquid, the result is very risotto-like!

And, um, just want to point out that you have TEN comments on your previous post--much more than "3"!! (took me months to get up to that many comments!!) ;)

Tiffany said...

Ricki said exactly what I was thinking...you have way more than 3 people checking out your blog!!!

I love faux-risotto recipes...I have a hard time stirring for half an hour! This looks great!

Liz said...

Haha! Thanks, Ricki! It helps that I reply to the comments so it looks like I have more ;)

It's amazing how similar this came out to typical risotto, Tiff. Thanks! :)

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

Aww hehe I want to see the video :o). I love doggies that bark/whine/"talk" to you. My dog is always talking back!

And the "risotto" looks fab. I want some now. It looks quite easy to make too-- I'm putting it on my "to-make" list.

Tiffany said...

Hey GE...I wanted to let you know that I have tagged you for a 6 word memoir, if you want to participate! Check out my blog for the info :)

Anonymous said...

Yum! I think it could fool my English-Austrian-(insert ten countries here) palate ... and I love brown rice!

Liz said...

Hey CCV! Thanks. I should totally videotape him next time he does it, which will inevitably be 5:45AM tomorrow morning ;)

Thanks, Tiffany! I'll try to come up with something clever, but my creative juices have been lacking recently.

Hey Alisa! Haha, mine is Irish-Lithuanian (insert ten countries here) too! I love the dairy-free site you're linked too -- such great info.