Mushroom, Sun-Dried tomato Risotto with oats.

Dear Heavenly Bodies,

I am on a hunt for new recipes because I need variety.  I do like some of my staples but it seems I have gone to them too much lately and I need something new and exciting.  The Mushroom, sun-dried tomato oat risotto looks like a great start.  It is from Fat Free Vegan

http://fatfreevegan.com/blog/2013/03/08/mushroom-sun-dried-tomato-oat-risotto/

It's great not to have to substitute anything in a recipe.  I do however dry-sauté my mushrooms allowing them to release their own liquor. They are 100% better than in water or the old me... Lots of oil. I do believe I had never tasted the wonderful beauty of a mushroom before for I used them as a sponge for the olive oil shame, shame.  Corrected now, yeah... 

 Enjoy and best of the day to you.   Elin. 

Another recipe from Healthy Slow Cooking. My new books, The Great Vegan Bean Book and Vegan Slow Cooking for Two or Just You, are available for pre-order now.

The more I cook with oats the more I find they have an endless amount of uses. Savory oats are my latest obsession. These steel cut oats retain an al dente quality to them just like arborio rice does in a risotto.

Mushroom Sun-dried Tomato Oat Risotto

serves 4

1 to 2 tablespoons water or veggie broth
½ small onion, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup minced mushrooms
¼ cup minced green bell pepper
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried marjoram
⅛ teaspoon ground rosemary or 1/4 teaspoon regular rosemary
1 cup Roland© Steel-cut Oats
2 tablespoons minced sun-dried tomatoes
4 to 5 cups water (as needed – see instructions)
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
salt and pepper, to taste

Water saute the onions over medium heat, cook until translucent then add the garlic, mushrooms, bell pepper and herbs. Saute for 5 to 20 minutes, until the mushrooms have browned and released their juices.

Add in the oats and stir to prevent them from burning. Cook until lightly toasted, about 3 minutes.

Add the sun dried tomatoes and 1 cup of water. Simmer over medium heat stirring often to keep the mixture from burning on the bottom.

Once the first cup of water has been absorbed by the oats add a second cup of water and keep stirring. Add the third cup of water once the second is absorbed and keep stirring (isn’t risotto fun?).

Once the third cup is absorbed add one more cup water (the forth) and after it’s absorbed try a piece of the oats to see if it’s cooked through. You want it to be al dente so tender but a little chewy.

If it’s not tender yet add an additional cup of water to insure the oats are cooked through. They should still have a chewy texture and not be mushy.

Right before serving add the nutritional yeast, salt and pepper.

Don’t forget you can use the same technique to make a clean out the fridge oat risotto!