Hearty Risotto Salad – it’s a thing (well, it is now!)
This is a delicious, filling salad filled with arborio rice, cos lettuce, crispy croutons, crunchy pine nuts, sun dried tomatoes and some vegan cheese (optional).
I’ll let you in on a little secret – this recipe was a failed attempt at arancini balls! They wouldn’t stick together and I had some mixture leftover, so I made it into a salad. I’m glad I did, because this was some goooooood salad!
You can use leftover risotto for this dish too – but I prefer to make it fresh and add my own ingredients. Another idea is substituting arborio rice for another type of rice – try brown, jasmine, wild rice, red rice or basmati rice (so many rices to choose from!). However, I find that arborio rice gives this salad that nice, well – hearty taste.
I’ve used Oliana Foods vegan parmesan and vegan feta in this salad. It’s a great addition! If you can’t get hold of those, feel free to sub with any other vegan cheeses, or make our Macadamia Dill Cheese to go with it!
This would be a great side salad to go with a Pecan and Mushroom Wellington and some Cumin Spiced Carrots.
I love this variation on traditional risotto – it just feels a little healthier adding some leafy greens to it, and it really is scrumptious! Please share this Hearty Risotto Salad with your family and friends!
Turn a risotto into a Hearty Risotto Salad with this easy recipe! So tasty and nourishing with all the right elements. You'll be going back for seconds!
- 1 cup aborio rice
- 1 vegan chicken stock cube
- 2 Tbsp pine nuts toasted
- 1/2 cup artichokes sliced
- 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes sliced
- 1/4 cup Oliana vegan parmeson (optional)
- 1/4 cup Oliana vegan feta cubed (optional)
- 1/2 red onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- cos lettuce chopped
- 1 cup croutons
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Cook the arborio rice with the vegan chicken stock cube as per instructions on the packet. Let the rice cool slightly. (or it can be cooled completely)
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Cook the onion and garlic in some olive oil until softened. Set aside. If making your own croutons, add 1 to 1 1/2 cups of old bread chopped into cubes into a saucepan with olive oil. Sprinkle with some italian herbs or any other dried herbs. Cook in the pan until crispy. Set aside.
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Once the rice, croutons, onion, garlic and pine nuts are cooked, put all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix together well. Serve straight away. Enjoy!
Looks great! LOVE the colors and textures!
Thank you so much Jennifer!