Vegan Fennel and Pear Risotto

Anastasia

5 years ago

My vegan fennel and pear risotto is a twist on famous recipe which is made with pear and Gorgonzola. I worked a little bit on creating a kinda blue cheese vegan sauce and there’s quite a long list of ingredients but the result is worth the effort.

The sauce indeed tastes a little funky but not too overwhelming like the real cheese. But it does the job to balance the sweetness of pear and along with sautéed fennel it creates a beautiful bouquet of different flavors.

Blitz all ingredients for vegan blue cheese sauce in a blender and set aside.

Heat enough vegan butter or olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Sauté shallots until soft and translucent. Add garlic, fennel and pear and cook for few minutes to soften. Then add rice and stir until the rice is translucent around the edges.

Now pour white wine, stir and let it evaporate. Pour vegetable stock one ladle at a time and continue stirring the rice. When almost all the stock is absorbed add another ladle.

Continue adding the stock and stirring risotto for 15-20 minutes or until rice is al dente.

Lastly add vegan blue cheese sauce, freshly ground black pepper and salt if needed. Mix well, switch off the heat and serve.

Vegan Fennel and Pear Risotto

Extra creamy fennel and pear risotto with vegan blue “cheese”.

Author: Anastasia
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 25 min
Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 2-3
Category: Main course
Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

For risotto:

1 C rice for risotto (Carnaroli, Arborio, Vialone Nano)
1l vegetable stock
1/3 C white wine
2 shallots, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 small fennel bulb, trimmed and chopped
1 pear, diced
salt and black pepper to taste
vegan butter or olive oil (or both) for cooking

For vegan blue cheese sauce:

2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp soy milk
1 tsp whole grain mustard
2 tsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tsp sweetener
1/2 tsp dark miso
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp dried dill

Instructions

Blitz all ingredients for vegan blue cheese sauce in a blender and set aside.
Heat enough vegan butter or olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Sauté shallots until soft and translucent. Add garlic, fennel and pear and cook for few minutes to soften. Then add rice and stir until the rice is translucent around the edges.
Now pour white wine, stir and let it evaporate. Pour vegetable stock one ladle at a time and continue stirring the rice. When almost all the stock is absorbed add another ladle.
Continue adding the stock and stirring risotto for 15-20 minutes or until rice is al dente.
Lastly add vegan blue cheese sauce, freshly ground black pepper and salt if needed. Mix well, switch off the heat and serve.