This delicious Broccoli Mushroom Risotto is the most perfect dinner for those nights you want indulge in a traditional Italian comfort food revisited in its healthy version. I created this recipe one night when we were living in Los Angeles… Alec was about to come back home and I wanted to surprise him with one of the dishes we love the most when we go visit my family in Italy.
Before you start following this recipe, I’d recommend you to read my GUIDE: How to Make Risotto Like an Italian where I share 13 tips that will help you prepare this dish like a pro!
And you are lover of all things rice like me and are also trying to avoid gluten, make sure to check out my post 5 Types of Rice that are not Gluten Free.
I have been making risotto with all sorts of vegetables (kabocha squash is one of my favorite to use!), but before this recipe I had never experimented with adding a superfood to it.
When I first tried moringa powder, it immediately reminded me of a typical Italian wild herb called “luartìs“, that we pick during the Spring in the fields of the North of Italy to make “risotto” or “frittata”. Why not using this healthy superfood to prepare a broccoli mushroom risotto packed with fibers and with a boost of phytonutrients too!?!
Up until now my only experience with moringa dates back to my trip to St. Kitts, in the Caribbean, where I went to visit a moringa plantation and had a chance to try moringa infused drinks, that the locals love because of the renown health benefits of this plant.
When Fera sent over some of their organic moringa, I was super excited to come up with something creative and actually incorporate this ingredient into a real dish… And that’s how this broccoli mushroom risotto with moringa was born!!
Don’t worry if you don’t have this superfood. The risotto will come out just as delicious without it. Aren’t ALL vegetables superfood at the end of the day?! But if you happen to have some or have always wanted to try it, I think this could be a fun way to find use for it.
Moringa powder comes from the young, naturally-dried leaves of the moringa, one of the most nutrient-dense plants on the planet that contains 92 phytonutrients, 46 antioxidants, 36 anti-inflammatories and 18 amino acids (and you can read more about all its anti-inflammatory properties here).
And I love the fact that Fera, the company that produces it, was founded by Jacquelyn, a young woman who managed to heal from the symptoms of Crohn’s disease through a nutrient dense diet, that included – you guessed it – MORINGA!
Like always, this dish is also gluten and dairy free, as I took inspiration from the amazing coconut milk risotto they cooked for me at the Rosewood Cordevalle in San Martin, CA (read my travel blog here), and used this delicious ingredient in this recipe to sub the dairy products (butter and cheese) that are commonly added to this dish!
Broccoli & Mushroom Risotto
Equipment
- Cutting board, big knife, medium size risotto pot with a lid, small pot, wooden spoon.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 8 leaves of Sage
- ½ cup finely chopped White Onion or Shallot
- 1 cup Arborio or Carnaroli Rice
- 2.7 oz White Wine
- 1 medium organic Zucchini
- 1/2 cup sliced Crimini Mushrooms
- 1 small head of Broccoli shaved (or 4 heads of Broccolini)
- 21.9 oz Water or Stock of choice
- 1/4 tsp Turmeric
- 1/4 tsp Pink Himalayan Salt
- 1 to 2 tsp Fera Moringa Powder *optional, and depending on how strong you want the taste to be
- 1/4 cup of Full Fat Coconut Milk
- 3 tbsp grated dairy free Cheese
Instructions
- Finely chop onion and sage. Wash and dice the zucchini, shave the broccoli head, and thinly slice the mushrooms if they aren’t already sliced.
- Heat up the broth or water in a small pan. If you decide to use water instead of broth, add a pinch of salt to it.
- In a risotto pot (read this guide to make sure you have the right one), heat up the extra virgin olive oil, and when it starts to sizzle, add in the chopped onion, and sage. Cook on medium and add a splash of water or broth so they until the onion becomes soft.
- Add in the rice and let it toast for a couple of minutes while stirring with a wooden spoon.
- Deglaze the pan with a splash of white wine to add another layer of flavor. Simmer, stirring constantly, until the wine has completely reduced and add in the veggies.
- Add in the liquid incrementally one ladle (1/2 cup) at a time (the rice needs to be covered with liquid). Keep the lid on and stir regularly between additions. Wait until the liquid has been almost completely absorbed before you add the next ladle. With the fire on medium-low, this his should take about 20 minutes.
- While stirring, add in salt, turmeric and optionally the moringa.
- When the rice has almost absorbed all the liquid and the grains are pretty much cooked, turn off the burner, add in coconut milk and cheese, mix and cover with the lid for about 2 minutes before serving.
- You can garnish your risotto with sage, or with a few thin slices of fried or raw mushroom on top.
Notes
I hope you enjoyed the recipe for this broccoli mushroom risotto and I can’t wait to hear from you! Do you have any special tricks to incorporate more of this superfood into your diet?
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Lots of love and ciao!
Ambra
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