Pesto Risotto

 

The essentials

Ingredients

Pesto:
1 clove Garlic
1 pack Basil Leaves
50g Spinach Leaves
4 tbsp Olive Oil
3 tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
Salt and pepper

Risotto:
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 small onion, diced
200g arborio rice
240ml dry white wine
250 ml vegetable stock
Salt and pepper

Tomatoes:
1 large stalk of cherry tomatoes with about 12 tomatoes
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
Salt

Method

Preheat oven to 180ºC.

For the pesto:

Use a blender (nutribullet is also great and easy to use) to combine the garlic, basil, spinach, olive oil and lemon juice to make the pesto. Puree until smooth and then season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

For the tomatoes:

Place the cherry tomatoes on a tray prepared with a sheet of baking paper. Drizzle with the melted coconut oil and season with salt. Place in the oven and roast for 15 minutes.

For the risotto:

In a large pan over medium heat, add the coconut oil and onion. Saute the onion for about 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat the rice with the onion and oil.

Meanwhile, bring the vegetable stock to a simmer over low heat in a small pan.

Add the wine to rice and stir, making sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. As the wine cooks off, add a large ladle of stock and continue to cook and stir. As the stock cooks off, add another ladle of stock. Continue this process of adding stock and cooking it off, stirring continuously.

When you have been cooking it for about 15 minutes add the pesto and stir in. Add the rest of the stock and continue to cook until all the liquid has cooked off and the rice is a good consistency.

Serve with a few of the roasted tomatoes.

 

A little bit extra

Basil is a great source of vitamin K which is important for blood and bone health. It is also a good source of vitamin A which is important for our immune system. So this is an very useful green to have in our diet in the winter months!

One serving of our Pesto Risotto will give you the following goodness:

Fat: 22.1g

Carbs: 25.1g

Protein: 2.4g

Calories: 345