Risotto alle Mele

This is a very popular family recipe. My grandmother used to make this all the time and its success makes for great family stories told over summer lunches. My version of this recipe comes from my mom, although of course it’s been modified a bit to be vegan. That’s why it’s not really my grandmother’s secret recipe, unfortunately – but it’s extremely tasty and incredibly interesting. If you’re looking to make a delicious, impressive, and surprising dish for someone, this is perfect.

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 400g risotto rice
• 1 white onion, chopped into small pieces
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 6 red apples, peeled and diced
• 800ml-1000ml vegetable stock
• 4 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2tsp curry powder
• salt
• olive oil
• glass of white wine
• ground black pepper

Preparation (50 minutes)

Drizzle some olive oil onto a pan and turn it on medium high heat. After about a minute, add half the onion. Stir around for about 5 minutes, then add half the garlic. Stir for another 4 minutes, then add the apples. Leave the apples to cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. When they’re all nice and soft, and just starting to turn slightly crispy, turn the heat down and leave to simmer. Make sure the vegetable stock is boiling. Drizzle some olive oil into a large pot (if it’s not a good non-stick one you will have to be stirring constantly) and turn on maximum heat. Add the rest of the onion and garlic, and stir around for 5 minutes. Add the risotto, and stir for about 3 minutes until the grains of rice are slightly toasted. Add the wine, and stir rapidly until all the wine has evaporated. Add the apples, and stir around until distributed more or less evenly with the risotto. Add some salt, pepper, and about 200ml of vegetable stock. Stir around in the risotto slowly until it has almost all evaporated or been absorbed, then add another 200ml. Continue until you’ve added about 700ml, then start adding just 100ml at a time and taste the risotto to make sure it’s not getting overcooked. Once it’s cooked, and all of the water has evaporated but it’s still quite creamy, add the nutritional yeast and curry powder and stir well. Serve right away for a great winter meal!