Quinoa Risotto

By DearGaby, on November 2nd, 2009

Cooking for me is fun. So I always experiment with my old recipes and try to update them. This time I experimented with risotto. I have made risotto the traditional way using Italian aborio rice. I have also made risotto with other grains such as barley and brown rice. However, until yesterday, I never made it with Quinoa. I love Quinoa since it is a complete protein and its tastes wonderful. So I try to incorporate Quinoa in many of my meals. Quinoa is great for vegetarians looking to add some protein to their diet.

Making risotto using Quinoa is quite simple. Just take your favorite risotto recipe and substitute Quinoa for the aborio rice. It’s a wonderful twist to risotto and will be a welcomed addition to your meal.

If you do not have a basic risotto recipe, I have included one below using Quinoa instead of aborio rice.

Ingredients:

1/2 onion diced
3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups Quinoa
1/2 cup white wine
4 1/2- 5 cups hot broth or water
1/3 cup parmigiano cheese
1/4 cup fresh parley chopped
chopped 2-3 green onions (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

In a heavy pan, over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in olive oil. Add the chopped onion to pan. Cook onion until soft, approximately 2-3 minutes. Add quinoa to pan, making sure to coat it with the olive oil-butter -onion mixture. Cook for 2 minutes. Add white wine. Stirring frequently. Add 1/2 cup of hot broth to pan. Continue to stir frequently. When the liquid is almost absorbed, add another 1/2 cup of broth. Continue to do this until all the broth has been added. When the last of the broth is almost completely absorbed. Turn off the heat and add remaining butter and cheese. Stir until the butter has melted. Add all the remaining ingredients. Mix everything together. Cover pan and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Serves 4-6 people

This recipe is your basic risotto recipe. Once you learn the technique of making risotto than you can virtually add anything you’d like to it. Try using dried porcini mushrooms along with other mushrooms to make a wild mushroom risotto. Add the mushrooms about 10 minutes into the cooking process. Soak about 1/4 ounce of dried porcini mushrooms in 1 cup of water. Add the 1 cup of the liquid you soaked the mushrooms to the hot broth. But reduce the broth from 5 cups to 4 cups.

I have made a variety of risottos including spinach, asparagus, seafood, meat, etc. Risotto is also an excellent way to use up your leftovers.

If you haven’t made risotto–give it a try. It is not very difficult and it can be prepared in 20 minutes.

About Gabrielle:
Gabrielle Ottavio is certified as an International Image and Style Consultant. She is a member of AICI, which is the leading and largest professional association of personal and corporate image consultants worldwide. She possesses several years consulting experience in the areas of staffing, one on one executive coaching, career couseling and image consulting. Gabrielle is also on the board of ISACA, an international organization comprised of professionals and students, IT Women, and the Fashion Group International, comprised of professionals in the fashion business.