A vegan Greek aromatic herbed spinach risotto based on the Greek spanakoryzo recipe but made with the method of making risotti.
Instead of adding cheese and butter, since it is vegan I add some more raw extra virgin olive oil at the end to make it creamy and delicious!
This risotto is great for those fasting during Orthodox Lent because it is lactose free but also gluten free.
The aromatic herbs add an amazing taste to this dish!
In less than 30 minutes, this vegan risotto will be on the table.
The quantity of rice added depends on what you want to prevail in the dish.
When my children were younger and did not like spinach, I used to add more rice but now we love it with less rice.
What Herbs can I add in the vegan risotto?
Depending on the availability of other aromatic herbs, we can add kafkalithres, myronia (chervil), dill, wild fennel, parsley, green onions, tarragon, chives, seskoula (baby chard, called seskla in Argolida), koukakia (young leaves of fava beans) and vrouves, mustard greens (Sinapis arvensis).
Serve your risotto with a salad or kalamata olives, and some crusty bread.
For those not fasting, accompany it with some feta and Greek yoghurt.
How to make the spinach risotto
- Put the frozen spinach on low heat with a cup of water and mix until it wilts. Drain and set aside.
- Heat the water and dissolve the vegetable bouillon.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and sauté the onions and leek, until translucent. Add the green leaves of the spring onion as well.
- Add the rice, and mix well to coat with the oil.
- Add the garlic and sauté for a few seconds.
- Add the wine and stir until the alcohol evaporates.
- Start adding a ladle of broth mixing constantly until it is absorbed.
- Add the spinach mix until it wilts.
- Season with salt and pepper as well as the zest.
- Add the lemon juice, mix and continue adding broth and mixing for about 20 minutes until the rice is cooked al dente.
- Five minutes before it is ready, mix in the aromatic herbs and mix for 2 – 3 minutes.
- Add the raw extra virgin olive oil and mix.
- Let it rest for a few minutes and serve warm.
Useful tip
Add herbs towards the end as they keep all their aroma and flavor.
Vegan Spinach Risotto
A healthy vegan risotto, which is made the classic way, adding onions, leeks and aromatic herbs, which add an amazing taste to this dish!
Ingredients
- 750 grams fresh or frozen spinach
- 80 ml (1/3 cup) extra virgin olive oil
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- ½ leek, finely chopped
- 1 spring onion, finely chopped (green leaves as well)
- 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
- 400 grams of carolina or arborio rice
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 6 cups water
- 1 cube organic vegetable bouillon
- 1 tbsp salt
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- Zest of one lemon
- ½ cup aromatic herbs (kafkalithres, myronia, dill or, parsley), finely chopped
- 40 ml extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- In a saucepan put the frozen spinach on low heat with half a cup of
water and mix until it wilts Drain and set aside. - In another saucepan, heat the water and dissolve the vegetable bouillon.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and sauté the onions and leek, until translucent Add the green leaves of the spring onion as well. - Add the rice, and mix well to coat with the oil.
- Add the garlic and sauté for a few seconds.
- Add the wine and stir until the alcohol evaporates.
- Start adding a ladle of broth mixing constantly until it is absorbed
- Add the spinach mix until it wilts.
- Season with salt and pepper as well as the zest.
- Add the lemon juice, mix and continue adding broth and mixing for about 20 minutes until the rice is cooked al dente.
- Five minutes before it is ready, mix in the aromatic herbs and mix for 2
- 3 minutes. - At this point, if you do not want your risotto vegan, you can add the
crumbled feta and mix until creamy. - If not, add more extra virgin olive oil and mix
- Let it rest for a few minutes and serve warm.
Nutrition Information
Yield 6 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 343Total Fat 19gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 16gCholesterol 0mgSodium 1254mgCarbohydrates 33gFiber 5gSugar 3gProtein 7g
Risotti
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Kritharotto takes its name from the Greek word "kritharaki" which means orzo. So, instead of making risotto using arborio rice (or Carolina rice which we use in Greece), I used kritharaki (orzo) which is a tiny pasta, which looks like rice.
Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,
