Guns N' Roses ~ Paradise City
Thunder ~ Have Mercy
Caro Emerald ~ Stuck
Marvin Gaye ~ Distant Lover
Alanis Morrisette ~ Hand In My Pocket
ZZ Ward ~ Save My Life
Black Stone Cherry ~ Blow My Mind
Tchaikovsky: Overture in F, Op 67
Beth Hart ~ Love Is The Hardest
Harry Connick Jr ~ Just The Way You Are
Tina Dico ~ Break Of Day
Natalie Prass ~ Your Fool
Half Moon Run ~ Nerve
The Mavericks ~ There Goes My Heart
It's a great reason to smile today as I sit here and write up my SUMA: Wholefoods recipe. I'm very proud to be part of the SUMA Bloggers Network. I had to take a break for a couple of postings due to the medical issues but now I am back. Hoorah!
Autumn is by far my favourite of the seasons. I love the colour and the feel of it. I also love the foods that come with it. I particularly love the squashes and pumpkins that become available. For this posting I wanted to create a warming, savoury wholesome meal for these cooling autumnal evenings.
During a recent shopping trip I picked up a couple of small Onion Squashes and a large bag of Brussels tops. The latter was a great joy as I am a Brussels sprouts addict and had never been able to by the tops (photo below) before. I had a large packet of Biona Brown risotto rice from SUMA. So the contents went into soak the night before, ready for the recipe testing day. Since finding the brown risotto rice options I have fallen in foodie love with risotto. In the past, as with white pasta, I found white rice to be too gloopy and not to my taste or texture palate at all. I have been using a generic short grain brown rice until finding Biona's Brown Risotto Rice between the covers of SUMA catalogue.
Now I would be a liar if I produced this risotto with no help so I admit now that I was assisted by my best pal and I thank her for all the help she provided. She happily worked alongside me doing all the kitchen
My desires for this risotto were simple. I wanted plump and succulent pearls of rice that held an extremely savoury flavour. I wanted the natural sweetness of the roasted pumpkin to be offset by the savouriness of the risotto. For a level of freshness I decided some briefly steamed Brussels top leaves would be perfect. Just a simple 5 minutes in the steamer left them vibrant with colour and they had a great tender/crisp texture. For the risotto I chose shallots as the base, flageolet beans for their delicate earthiness and fresh sage for an intense herb hit. I also added some fresh ginger root to provide a warming note to the flavours. The photo below shows the roasted pumpkin surrounding the serving of risotto and it makes for a very pretty picture. But once you start to eat the risotto and the pumpkin melts with the heat from the rice it, becomes the all rounded dish I was aiming for. The slight sweetness from the pumpkin rounds out the savoury goodness. The differing textures from the rice, beans, soft pumpkin and pumpkin seeds are a delight. And combine that with the tender crisp Brussels tops...well my friend...you will find yourself unable to stop eating...
I hope you try this recipe and enjoy as much as we did. And it makes a very generous serving for four people so I write this knowing I have leftovers in the fridge for my meal tonight...
Thanks, as always, to Amy and the folks at SUMA for allowing me to be part of this great team. And respect to all my fellow bloggers..
Advanced planning required: The brown risotto rice needs soaking overnight before being cooked. The pumpkin slices need roasting until toasted and soft in texture so you could do this ahead of cooking the risotto.
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| Rocket & Roses Shallot, Flageolet & Sage Brown Rice Risotto on a Brussels Top & Pumpkin Bed |
Rocket & Roses Shallot, Flageolet & Sage Brown Rice Risotto on a Brussels Top & Pumpkin Bed Serves 4
(Original recipe from the Rocket & Roses Vegan Kitchen)
1 Onion squash, de-seeded, cut into slices
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 heaped cup brown risotto rice, soaked overnight, rinsed
1 head of Brussels sprout tops, bottom of the stalk removed, leave torn off but left whole
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| Beautiful Brussels Tops
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
16 small shallots, peeled and finely chopped or 8 large
2" piece of fresh ginger root, micro-grated
large handful fresh sage leaves, finely chopped - or to your taste
6 cups of hot vegetable stock
freshly cracked black pepper
Himalayan sea salt - to your taste or optional
1 14oz tin of flageolet beans, drained and rinsed well
3 tbsp pumpkin seeds
Pre-heat the oven to 200'C/400'F/GM 6. Lightly brush the pumpkin slices with the rapeseed oil and place on a baking sheet. Roast until the skins have darkened and the flesh is soft. Remove from the oven and carefully lift the slices from the sheet onto a plate and set to one side.
Rinse your soaked rice and then drain well. Place in a hot saucepan and toast, stirring constantly for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and set to one side.
In a skillet or risotto pan heat the olive oil gently and place the shallots in and saute for 5 minutes or until the shallots are softened and translucent. Grate in the ginger root and stir well. Cook for 2 minutes and then add the finely chopped sage. Cook stirring constantly until fragrant. Add in the toasted brown risotto rice and stir well until the shallot mix has evenly distributed with the rice.
Add the hot stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring frequently. When each cup of stock has been absorbed add another. Be patient! If the rice still needs a little more cooking liquid simply add hot water in 1/2 a cup measurements. But you shouldn't need to do this. Season well with a generous amount of freshly cracked black pepper.
Place the Brussels Tops in a steamer over boiling water and steam for 5 minutes until the stems are tender crisp. Once cooked remove from the steamer and layer onto the serving plates.
Add the flageolet beans into the risotto and stir in. Check for seasoning once more. Replace the lid and allow the beans to warm through in the residual heat.
Take the pumpkin slices and remove the skin and dice the roasted flesh and scatter them over the Brussels tops.
Allowing a generous cup measurement of risotto for each person, place the risotto on top of the Brussels tops and pumpkin. Scatter any remaining pumpkin over the top and add a good smattering of pumpkin seeds. Serve..
Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by and I hope your week is full of the wonderful Autumnal changes...
~Red~
NB: This is my creation. I have no problem with you using it or sharing it. I simply ask that you give credit where its due and provide links back to this posting. As I always try to when making recipes from other peoples kitchens. Many thanks...Namaste. ~R~
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