Pea Risotto with Morel Mushrooms, Smoked Asparagus, Rhubarb and Strawberry Crumble with Vanilla Ice Cream

Dinner 5/13

Pea Risotto with Morel Mushrooms
(recipe below)

Smoked Asparagus

Dessert

Rhubarb & Strawberry Crumble with Vanilla Ice Cream

Tonight's meal was based on another orphan food score, this time three enormous containers of English Peas, that, much like the Fava Beans last time, didn't get sold over the weekend. To be honest, we didn't see anything wrong with them physically. As it turned out, there was one pod that was unusable in the entire bunch.

The broth for the risotto was made using our regular veg broth with the addition of the shucked pea pods and asparagus trimmings, cooked together for 20 minutes, then strained, to give the broth that springtime flavor boost!

Pea Risotto with Morel Mushrooms

6 cups veg stock

1 tbs. olive oil
2 tbs. minced shallots
1 cup of arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 nutritional yeast
1 tbs. soy margarine
salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. soy margarine
1/4 pound fresh morel mushrooms, (soaked to clean), sliced into 1/4" rings
1 tsp. tamari

In a large saute pan, add the olive oil over medium heat and sweat the shallots for 2 minutes. Add the rice and stir to combine. When the rice begins to look "chalky" (2-3 minutes), add the white wine (off the heat) and cook until it's almost evaporated. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add half of the stock (three cups), stir to combine and and let it cook for 7-8 minutes. Then add the second half of the stock (three cups) and cook for another 7-8 minutes.

Add the nutritional yeast, soy margarine, salt and pepper, stir to combine and check to see if the rice is al dente. If not, cook for an additional 1-2 minutes. Check for seasoning and serve, topped with the morel mushrooms.

In a saute pan over medium heat, add the olive oil and soy margarine. When the margarine has melted add the sliced morel mushrooms and cook for 5-6 minutes, turning occasionally. At the end of cooking, splash with the tamari. Add to the top of the risotto.



There are few foods we haven't yet smoked -- surprisingly, asparagus was still on that list. That has now been rectified. ;)

The asparagus were fairly thick, so we peeled them. Next they were smoked with oak chips for 15 minutes, marinated with olive oil and tamari for 10 minutes and finally grilled.

When our daughter not only eats three entire stalks of asparagus (she's more of a "tip only" person), and then asks for seconds, well... let's just say they were pretty good.



As for the dessert, the rhubarb and strawberry were both at peak flavor, so it's best to get out of the way and let them shine in a simple crumble.

Tags: asparagus, morel mushrooms, risotto, arborio, rice, smoker box, rhubarb, strawberry, ice cream, vanilla, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666