Vegan Morel Mushroom Risotto
A creamy risotto dish packed with umami and flavor. A perfect, 30-minute plant-based meal featuring morel mushrooms, garlic, and leeks.
Ingredients
- 10-12 Morel mushrooms, cleaned and trimmed*
- 1 large leek, trimmed and minced
- 8 cloves garlic, minced and divided
- 4 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped and divided
- 3 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 2 tbsp red miso paste
- 1 tsp tahini
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1/3 cup white wine
- 1 fresh lemon, juiced
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Morel Mushrooms
- Dunk morel mushrooms in a bowl of salted water for 20-30 seconds. Swish them around to remove the dirt and remove. Pat dry with paper towels. Remove the ends of the stems and discard. Slice cleaned mushrooms in half lengthwise and set aside.
- In a microwave safe glass container, combine miso paste, tahini and 1/4 cup of vegetable broth. Microwave 30 seconds and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- In a large cast-iron skillet pour in a bit of olive oil. Using a paper towel, wipe the olive oil all over the pan. Heat pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the prepared mushrooms, being careful not to crowd them. Cook 3-4 minutes without stirring them.
- Flip mushrooms over and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Add 1 tsp of olive oil, 2 tbsp of thyme and approximately 3 cloves of minced garlic. Cook until the garlic is fragrant and glistening about 1 minute. Turn heat off.
- Stir in miso/tahini mixture and set pan aside.
Risotto
- In a medium saucepan, heat remaining vegetable broth and nutritional yeast to a gentle simmer. Keep the broth simmering during the risotto cooking process.
- In a large dutch oven pot, heat 1 tsp of olive oil over medium heat. Add remaining minced garlic and leeks with a pinch of salt. Cook 3 minutes.
- Add 1 tbsp of simmering vegetable broth and rice. Stir for 1-2 minutes to coat the rice and toast it. You don't want to brown the rice.
- Pour in white wine and scrape the bottom of the pot. Cook 1 minute.
- Add 1 cup of broth to the pot and stir. Stir the risotto a few times every minute. When almost all of the broth has been absorbed, add another cup of broth. Repeat this process, continuing to stir and add broth once most of the liquid has been absorbed. I typically need to add about 5 cups of broth. Taste rice to see if done.
- The risotto if finished when you reach a creamy consistency, but still a bit al dente. If you look at a grain of the rice you should be able to see a bit of white in the center.
- Turn heat off. Stir in remaining fresh thyme and oregano. Add a big squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Taste and add salt and pepper and more lemon juice if desired.
Serving
- Add a scoop of risotto to each bowl and top with a few mushrooms and their sauce. Garnish with additional herbs if desired. Serve immediately.
Notes
*If you cannot find fresh or dried morel mushrooms, simply substitute your favorite wild mushroom (at least 3-4 cups).