Baked Sundried Tomato Risotto

It feels like forever since I've actually been in my kitchen to make a vegan meal for myself and the husband.  On July 28, we left for a thirteen-day trip to the East Coast and once we returned home, we left again two days later for a family reunion in Colorado.  Therefore, it has been a very long time since I cooked.  I guess there was that one time when we were at my parent's house that I made the dinner for everyone, but it was just my usual pasta and red sauce with artichoke hearts. At the family reunion, I was able to eat plenty of vegan food, since most of my family is vegetarian and always made a non-dairy option for me if something had cheese or eggs in it. 

Anyway.

We finally returned home yesterday morning, which gave me a whole day to plan menus and meal plans, and go grocery shopping!  Hoorah!

On the menu for this week:

Baked Sundried Tomato Risotto With Grilled Veggies and Balsamic Reduction

Sweet Chili Lime Tofu with Steamed Chard and Quinoa

Japanese Buckwheat Udon Noodle and Vegetable Stir-fry

Something with red potatoes and brown rice

Sprouted 7-grain bread for breakfast

Lots of fruit for breakfast

Lots of veggies for salads

Chips and salsa for snacks

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Last night I made the Baked Sundried Tomato Risotto.  The recipe comes from my Vegan Yum Yum app and goes something like this:  (I just wrote how I made it, but click here for the original recipe from vegan yum yum.)

Ingredients:

1 Garlic Clove, minced

3-4 shallots, finely chopped

2 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Cup Arborio Rice

1/3 Cup Oil Packed Sundried Tomatoes, chopped

1 tsp Dried Italian Herbs, your choice

1/2 Cup Cooking Sherry (I used a replacement of half water, half apple juice)

2 Cups hot vegetable stock

1/2 tsp Salt

1 Small Eggplant

1/2 Can water packed artichoke hearts, quartered

1 Red Bell Pepper

Balsamic Vinegar for reduction (at least 1/2 cup)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 450.

Saute the garlic and onion in olive oil in an oven safe pan that has high sides and a tight fitting lid. 

Meanwhile, chop bell pepper and half the eggplant into bite-sized chunks.  Mix with artichoke hearts in a large bowl.  Sprinkle olive oil, salt and pepper over veggies and mix together so that veggies are evenly coated.  Cut the rest of the eggplant into thick slices.  Coat with oil and salt and pepper.  Put aside to grill.

Once the onion has softened, add the rice and stir to coat with the oil.  Saute for 2-3 minutes.  Add the sundried tomatoes and herbs, and mix everything well.  Add the cooking sherry and stir until absorbed by the rice, about 2 minutes.  Add the vegetable stock, stir, cover and bake for 25-30 minutes. 

While the risotto is baking, it is time to grill the veggies.  My husband is Grill Master in our house, so he took over this task.  He placed a flat, cast-iron grill on top of the actual grill outside so that the veggies wouldn't fall through the grates.  However, you can grill the veggies in any manner you wish. 

To make the balsamic reduction, simply heat the vinegar in a pan until it becomes syrupy.  Add half the amount first, and gradually add to it while stirring and heating gently.  Be careful not to burn or carmelize the vinegar.  It should take only a few minutes for it to become the perfect consistency.

Once the risotto is done, put everything on a plate (side by side like I did, or all together in a big pile W did) and drizzle the balsamic vinegar reduction over it.  

Enjoy!

This is some of the best risotto I've ever had, and I think I'm going to bake it like this every time.  It was so delicious!  The balsamic vinegar was a delicious addition to this dish, which I wasn't expecting.  We both ate so much, I had to make sure to specifically save a separate dish for my lunch the next day! 

It's nice to be back home and cooking again. 

UPDATE:  Whoops!  I had originally added something here at the end about lime.  Well, that was for a different recipe so disregard anything about lime or sugar in this risotte recipe!