Ingredients
Scale
Risotto
- 2 tbsp high heat oil (such as coconut, ghee, or avocado)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1.5 cups arborio rice
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- ½ cup dry white wine
- ¼ tsp fine grain sea salt
Pesto
- 1.5 cups packed mixed herbs (I used an even mix of parsley, cilantro, basil with 5 – 6 sprigs of thyme)
- 3/4 cup walnuts (optionally lightly toasted in a pan over medium for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, to bring out flavor)
- ¼ tsp fine grain sea salt
- 3 cloves raw garlic, peeled
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp honey
- Juice of half a lemon
Instructions
Risotto
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium-large pot, bring vegetable stock and white wine to a simmer over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, in a large, oven safe pot with a lid (the lid also needs to be oven safe, although you can also cover tightly with foil in a pinch), melt high heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 3 – 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add rice and cook for 2 additional minutes, stirring occasionally. By now, your stock/wine mixture should be simmering – add the simmering liquid to the rice, give it a quick stir and put the lid on, and place the whole pot in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed (if it hasn’t when you check at 30 minutes, do 5 min increments). No need to stir while baking. While risotto is baking, make the pesto sauce.
Pesto
- Pulse together all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
Assembly
- When you remove risotto from oven, stir vigorously, then stir in pesto sauce and any additional mix-ins. Salt and pepper to taste, then garnish with some chiffonade basil and some crushed walnuts and serve. Serves 4.