If you want to make vegetarian recipes with rice, one of the most popular dishes you can make is a risotto. Risottos are a traditional Italian dish made out of rice, broth, and cream. However, you cannot make a risotto from just your regular white rice that you probably have stashed in your cupboard. Instead, you need to buy a high-starch, medium-grain rice (instead of long-grain, which is what the more common white rice has.)

While each risotto recipe is different, they all start out similarly. You first need to cook the raw rice in either olive oil or butter until it evenly coats each piece of rice. Use a spatula to help swirl the rice around in your sauté pan to make this easier. Then, another ingredient used in most kinds of vegetarian risottos is white wine, which has to be cooked until fully absorbed by the rice. Finally, once the wine is absorbed, add very hot low-sodium vegetable broth or vegetable stock to the rice very gradually. Simmer this and slowly add more hot broth until it has all been fully absorbed by the rice.

To make sure the rice is finished correctly, gently stir the whole thing constantly, the whole time you are adding the broth and waiting for the rice to absorb all of the liquid. Remove the rice from the heat, and whisk in some pieces of diced cold butter and some freshly grated parmesan cheese. The idea in this stage is to make the risotto creamy and smooth, although the grains should still be separate and should not be mushy. Make sure to season with salt and pepper after it’s cooked and to taste it so you don’t serve a vegetarian dish with rice that is bland.

While you could serve the risotto completely plain, it tastes better if you add some vegetables or legumes to the mix. Some excellent choices to add to your risotto are peas, fresh asparagus, and mushrooms. These can all be additionally seasoned with some fresh garlic and shallots, which you can cook in a little bit of butter or olive oil to soften before stirring it into your finished risotto. Chopped tomato and fresh basil are also a great addition to creating a unique risotto that will even impress children.
 
Keep in mind that risotto is usually served as an appetizer rather than a main course, although depending on your crowd, it might not matter. If you want to serve your risotto as a main course instead of an appetizer, though, you should pair it with a large side salad tossed with light vinaigrette and some fresh garlic bread. Whatever course you decide to serve your risotto for, make sure you serve it as soon as you finish the dish. Otherwise, the rice will continue to cook in the hot broth and your fancy plate of risotto will become dried out and inedible.