Wild Garlic Risotto
This simple but extremely aromatic spring dish is ideal for the all-too-short wild garlic season and tastes great as a main course or side dish. In this recipe, plenty of fresh wild garlic provides an intense, natural aroma and a bright green color. The risotto is prepared according to all the rules of a good risotto, but does not contain any Parmesan cheese and is therefore completely vegan – without compromising on taste.
Wild Garlic Love
My love for wild garlic knows no bounds—whether it’s fresh wild garlic pesto or delicious vegan spaetzle with wild garlic. Here, I’ll show you how to make a creamy wild garlic risotto that captures the full freshness of spring.
Risotto all’aglio orsino
Risotto all’aglio orsino – this melodious name is the Italian term for wild garlic risotto, a creamy rice dish prepared with fresh wild garlic.
This risotto is vegan and does not contain Parmesan cheese; the cheese is replaced with nutritional yeast and the butter with a plant-based alternative. Otherwise, the ingredients are quite classic.
Ingredients
For a creamy, aromatic, and vegan wild garlic risotto, you will need:
- Olive oil
- Onion
- Risotto rice
- White wine (if you want to make a risotto without wine, simply leave it out and use a little more broth instead)
- Vegetable broth: Vegetable broth is best suited for a vegan risotto. I make my own from water and homemade vegetable stock powder.
- Salt
- Wild garlic
- Vegan butter
- Nutritional yeast *) gives it a savory, cheesy flavor; alternatively, you can also use (vegan) Parmesan cheese.
Preparation
This risotto is easy to make if you follow these few steps:
- Sauté the onion in olive oil until translucent.
- Toast the rice and deglaze with wine.
- Gradually add the stock.
- Stir, stir, stir. But you don’t have to watch the risotto constantly, it’s enough to just stir it occasionally.
- Add the wild garlic: If you were wondering when to add wild garlic to risotto: do this towards the end so that the flavor doesn’t get lost. I blend it with a part of vegetable broth.
- Finish with a creamy texture using vegan butter, known as mantecatura. Some professional chefs celebrate this with wave-like movements, but I simply allow myself to simply swirl the wooden spoon. Yeast flakes are also added at this point (only at the end, so that the heat does not destroy too many of the vitamins).
- Freshness: Before serving, add some lemon zest and/or a splash of lemon juice to taste to really bring out the flavor of the wild garlic.
- Serve fresh and hot for the best flavor.
Constant stirring (which releases the starch in the rice) and finishing with butter create the typical, particularly creamy consistency.
Wild garlic risotto variations
You can enjoy your wild garlic risotto on its own—that’s how I like it best—or vary it a little depending on your taste buds, the season, and what you have in stock. Here are a few ideas that go particularly well with it:
Vegetables
- Tomatoes: Roasted cherry tomatoes go wonderfully with risotto. Alternatively, you can also add some tomato purée directly to the risotto.
- Asparagus: Wild garlic risotto goes very well with green or white asparagus – either stirred in or served separately.
- Peas: Peas also go very well with risotto. You can thaw frozen peas directly in the hot risotto or heat them separately and serve them on the side.
Toppings
- Roasted nuts:
- Pine nuts – classic and mild
- Walnuts – slightly bitter, a nice contrast
- Cashews – mild and round in flavor
- Almond feta: simply crumble over the risotto
- Parmesan alternatives: Either grate some store-bought vegan Parmesan cheese over the dish, or make your own by simply processing following ingredients until finely ground:
- 70 g cashews (about ½ cup)
- 10 g roasted sesame seeds (about 1 tablespoon)
- 25 g nutritional yeast (about ⅓ cup)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar (or condimento bianco or similar)
- Fresh herbs: Chives, parsley, cress, or chervil add extra freshness. A few finely chopped wild garlic leaves are also great for garnishing.
Wild garlic risotto the next day
Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for about one day. When reheated, the risotto loses some of its creaminess and becomes drier—a dash of water or broth helps.
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Creamy Wild Garlic Risotto: full of flavor
Equipment
- mini blender *)
- risotto spoon *) Nice to have, for less resistance when stirring
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion larger
- 400 g risotto rice do not wash
- 125 ml dry white wine Alternatively: more stock
- 1500 ml vegetable stock warm to hot
- 2/3 tsp salt
- 200 g wild garlic
- 60 g vegan butter cold, diced
- 4 tbsp nutritional yeast *)
- 1/2 lemon
Instructions
- Peel the onion and finely dice it, and wash the wild garlic.
- Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat and sauté the onion until translucent (the onion pieces should not brown).
- Add the risotto rice, stir until each grain of rice is coated with oil, and roast for about 1 minute (the rice should not brown).
- Deglaze with white wine, reduce the heat and simmer for approx. 1 minute.
- Now add the vegetable stock to the rice, just enough to cover it with liquid. Stir frequently to prevent it from burning. Once the stock has been absorbed, add more stock to the pot, again just enough to cover the rice. Keep about 1/3 (about 2 cups if you are using 1.500 ml / 6.4 cups) of the broth on the side for the next step.
- Blend the wild garlic with the 1/3 stock using a mini blender or hand blender. Add the mixture when the rest of the stock has been used up. Simmer for a little longer.
- Remove the pot from the heat, stir in cold butter, salt, and yeast flakes.
- Before serving, stir in the lemon juice and, if using an organic lemon, finely grate some of the zest over the top. Serve hot.
Video
Notes
- Servings: The specified amount with 400 g of risotto rice yields 4 small servings.
- Broth: I mix hot water with my homemade vegetable stock powder (approx. 1,5 tablespoon to 1,500 ml / 6.4 cups of water).
- Butter: it should be cold so that the sauce is creamy and not greasy. Some people even freeze it beforehand.
- Risotto tastes best hot and fresh.