I almost had a Portobello protest on my hands last week.  See, I was having my lovely vegan friends over for dinner again on Friday night and was having a hard time nailing down what I was going to make.  I gave them a list of ingredients and had them pick:

Hazelnuts
Sriracha
Asparagus
Peanuts
Polenta
Portobello Mushrooms
Risotto

Mushrooms were the only one they didn’t pick.  Two of them were fervently against the notion of eating fungi until they realized that I have yet to let them down in the kitchen.  I assured them that I too have lived my life as a mushroom hater, but have started to open up my mind and heart to these little (or big) guys and that Portobellos are a good place to start.   I’m glad they gave me the go-ahead because I had these hearty meat-less patties on the mind.

So I did a little Twitter ask-around for good recipes, and of course Lindsay came up with a GREAT suggestion from a friends blog.   All it needed was some good fungi and I was set.

So here you go.  Eat your little vegan hearts out people:

Vegan Asparagus and Portobello Risotto
Adapted from Wild Javelina

Serves 4-6

1 yellow onion, diced
1 fennel bulb, diced, fonds reserved
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup wild rice
4 cups veggie stock
1 cup dry white wine*, remainder reserved for imbibing
1 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
3 portobello mushrooms, cut into thin strips
1 bunch fresh asparagus
a food good drizzles of balsamic vinegar
a few good drizzles of olive oil
2 tbsp Earth Balance or a couple more drizzles of olive oil
S/P to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 425°

In a medium sauce pan, heat up veggie broth and keep it warm until it’s ready to go into the rice.

In a large dutch oven or large skillet with lid, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add onions, fennel, and garlic and saute until soft.  Add rice and saute for additional minute.

Lower heat and and start adding in the liquids.  Wine first: stir into rice until it is all absorbed, then start ladling in broth, one cup at a time, stirring occasionally.  Keep covered in between stirring and adding more.  When broth is all absorbed, test rice for texture.  Feel free to add more wine, stock, or water until rice reaches desired consistency.

While waiting for rice to cook, roast the asparagus and saute the mushrooms.  Trim the ends of the asparagus and arrange on cookie sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper, then bake for 10 minutes.  Let cool, then cut into 1-2 inch pieces.

In a heavy saucepan, melt Earth Balance or heat olive oil (or butter if you’re not going vegan) over medium high heat**.  These bad boys will soak up whatever oil you give them, so if more is needed, bring it.  Saute down a bit, then add a few generous splashes of good balsamic vinegar.  Continue to cook until mushrooms are limp and caramelized.  Salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

Back to the risotto.  When the rice is cooked to the desired consistency, stir in coconut milk and nutritional yeast.  Nutritional yeast might be one of my new favorite ingredients.  Mixed with the coconut milk, it gives a nice, rich, cheesy flavor and texture without the dairy.  Next, add in the asparagus, mushrooms, and fennel fronds.  Give it a good mix and a taste, then add salt and pepper if needed.

Serve immediately, and don’t forget to pour yourself another glass of wine.

*I used a 2009 Anne Amie Oregon Pinot Gris for the risotto.  Delish!

**Last summer, I bought some mushrooms from a stand at the Hollywood Farmers Market and the cute boy working there told me when sauteing mushrooms, start with high heat to lock in the flavor, then lower it as they cook.  Good tip!