Almost Hands-Free Fennel Risotto (Recipe #124)

I am a huge risotto fan! I first was introduced to risotto when I started making more vegan recipes. I found this incredible recipe for mushroom risotto and I was instantly hooked. Arborio rice--the rice that is used in risotto--is now a kitchen staple. This recipe in the Vegan for Everybody cookbook takes two approaches to a risotto. There is a recipe for mushroom risotto and fennel risotto. This time I decided to try the fennel risotto.

I first started by making a base of vegetable broth, water, and white miso. In a large pot, I added oil and sauteed chopped fennel. I added a small amount of Sambuca--the recipe called for Pernod, but that was what we had on hand. After that cooked off, I transferred the fennel to a bowl on the side. In the empty pot, I sauteed onion with salt and added garlic. I added the rice and sauteed that for a few minutes. I stirred in white wine and let that cook off. Once that cooked off, I added in some of the base mixture and let that simmer with the lid on for about 15 minutes. I then added the rest of the base and the fennel while constantly stirring for about 3 minutes. I let it rest with the lid on for about 5 minutes before serving it with parsley.

This was a good recipe for risotto, but I felt that it could have been creamier. I wonder if I should have made additional base or added in some vegan butter. I am interested to see how the mushroom risotto turns out. If I also feel that version should have been creamier, then I will switch to the previous recipe that I used. The risotto did have a nice flavor and I enjoyed it, but I would like to see it creamier.

Taste: 8/10

Level of difficulty: 1/5

Notes for next time: I liked the fennel flavor, but it wasn’t very strong. I also thought that this could be creamier.