Mushroom red wine risotto

I prefer red wine risotto to white wine risotto, and I always use the same ratios.

1 cup of Arborio rice
1/2 cup of Wine
6 cups of Stock

To make this mushroom risotto, first prepare the mushrooms in advance. Just sautée them in some olive oil with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Set them aside.

1st step: Sautée 1 small Onion diced, or preferably about 3 shallots also diced if you can get some in 2 Tbsp of Olive oil.

2nd step: Add the rice and keep stirring, allow the rice to open up a bit.

3rd step: Add a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and follow with the red wine. Allow the rice to absorb the wine, and just then add the mushrooms.

4th step: Start adding the stock one cup at a time while cooking the risotto in medium to low heat. I prefer to use mushroom stock for this recipe when I have it on hand. You can also just use water, but in this case don't forget to add extra salt to taste.

If you take your time and cook your risotto one cup at a time, you can have a great creamy risotto without adding any extra butter or cheese. Just be sure to eat it right away or the creamyness will fade away.

Ribollita Soup

I'm not a big fan of hot soup, although I have some favourites:

Leek soup
White asparaguas soup - thank you Ana!!
Tomato soup
Garbanzo soup
Bean soup
Pasta and tomatoes soup

This Ribollita soup is typical of Tuscany in Italy.

1 Onion, diced
1 Zuchini, diced
1 Carrot, diced
4 Garlic cloves, diced
3 Tbsp Olive oil
1 tsp Salt

1. Using a large pan, sautée the vegetables in the olive oil, and season with salt. Cook it at minimum heat for 15 minutes.

400g Tomatoes, concasse

2. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 more minutes.

280g Red beans (Canned is fine)
280g Kidney beans (Canned is fine)
300g Cabbage, roughly diced (In Tuscany they use Cavolo Nero but I just use normal cabbage)

3. After adding the beans and cabbage, allow to cook for 10 more minutes.
4. Then add 2L of water or Vegetable stock, and allow to simmer for 30 more minutes.
5. If using water, don't forget to season with more salt.

Ciambotta

Ciambotta is an italian Stew. I really enjoy it as a main dish. Just follow the instructions and you should be omomom soon!

2 Tbsp Olive oil
2 medium Onions, diced
2 Celery sticks, diced
2 Carrots, rougly diced
4 Cloves of garlic, finely diced

1. Sautée the onions, garlic and celery in the olive oil.
2. Add the carrots, and cook it in medium heat for 10 minutes.

1 small Eggplant, diced in cubes
0,1L Water

3. Add and cook it for 10 more minutes.

800g tomatoes, concassee
2 red bell peppers, roughly diced

4. Add these ingredients, and cook it for 15 more minutes.

300g Green beans, a bit undercooked, roughly diced
1 Zuchini, a bit undercooked, roughly diced
2 medium Potatoes, a bit undercooked, chopped in chunks

5. Add these ingredients, season with salt and pepper, and leave it there for 15 more minutes.

This Ciambotta is definitely more delicious than it looks like. Give it a try!

Insert X here Bolognese

I usually make Bolognese with Seitan or TVP, but you can also make it with Tofu. Below is the recipe for the Seitan version I make.

Ingredients:

1 small Onion, diced
1 Clove of garlic, diced
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Basil
300g Seitan, crumbled
500g Tomato sauce

Procedure:

1. Sautée the onion and garlic in the olive oil.
2. Add the seitan. Oregano and basil. I use dried. If you are using fresh, please add only at the end.
3. Add the tomato sauce. Omomomom.

Observations:

This recipe yields 900g. The cost to prepare 1 Kg of this delicious concoction is 2,85€. Please keep in mind I make my own Seitan and thus my calculations include a cost of Seitan at 3,7 € per Kg.

Tomato sauce

One of my staple recipes is the one for tomato sauce. This tomato sauce is super versatile, you can eat it as is, use it for all kinds of other sauces: bolognese, enchiladas, lasagna, pizzas. Also when some recipes call for tomato pulp, you can substitute it with tomato sauce for extra flavour.

Ingredients:

1 large Onion, diced
4 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Mix Spice
800g Tomatoes, whole, peeled
1/2 tsp Sugar
1/2 Tbsp Salt
200g Tomato, pulp

Procedure:

1. It's advisable to use a large pan.
2. Sautée the onions in the olive oil. Add the mix spice, I like curry.
3. Add the tomatoes. I usually use canned whole peeled tomatoes.
4. Cover and let it simmer for 20 minutes. Actually 5 on maximum would not be a problem, it just won't be as good.
5. Season with sugar and salt. The sugar is used to counter-balance the acidness of the tomato.
6. Grind everything to a nice sauce.
7. Add the tomato pulp. For improved taste, simmer for 5 more minutes. Correct seasonings.
8. Enjoy!!

Observations:

This recipe yields 1,2 Kg. And it costs about 1,3€ to make per Kilogram in Portugal. How much does it cost to make in your country?