Risotto Primavera And Environmental Thoughts



I've been feeling passionate about eating less meat, what with the limited amount of resources in the world and the growing population and all. Eating meat is extremely bad for the environment and a major cause of global warming on one hand. On the other, I feel weird about massively killing living creatures for my personal enjoyment while it isn't necessary on a nutritional level. I'm not saying we should all go vegetarian forever, but I do think it is important to eat a lot LESS meat. 

Vegetarian dining has such a bad rep for being low on flavor or boring, but I think most people just don't know how many amazing meat-free cuisines there are to be found on our vast earth. Indian cooking and its curries for example, many Moroccan tajines and dozens of amazing italian pasta recipes: none of it boring, all of it both delicious AND good for the environment. Especially recipes without any meat substitutes. Substitutes are ridiculous, there are thousands of vegetables and cheeses in the world to give some color and variety to your plate. 


Not convinced? Watch me cook my new favorite dish: risotto primavera! I ate a version of this dish in London and I loved the idea but the execution was lacking. Solution: I made my own, better version! 




What you'll need: olive oil, butter, black pepper, green asparagus, a small onion, a clove of garlic, risotto rice (I use arborio), a small courgette, some pine nuts, broth, frozen peas, fresh mint and parmesan cheese.

How to do it: heat up the broth. When boiling, turn down the heat very low. Get a deep pan going with the olive oil and butter, and when hot, add chopped onion and garlic. When the onions go glazy, add the risotto rice and scoop that around until the rice grains are all coated with oil.  Add a ladle full of the broth and let simmer with a lid on the pan, occasionally checking and adding broth when the rice has soaked up the liquid. While your risotto basically cooks itself, cut the asparagus in chunks and stir fry or grill them. Simply slice the courgette as finely as possible (I used a cheese slicer) and add to the risotto when it's almost done, along with the peas. This way, the courgette and peas keep all of their flavour and vitamins without going mushy. Add the asparagus when those are al dente and roast some pine nuts quickly. Add those to the risotto as well, and finish off with some parmesan, chopped mint and black pepper: done! Bon appetit!


So next time you're thinking about what to cook for dinner, consider leaving the meat out.

Read more about this here, here and here.

25 comments

  1. Doe je ook mee aan 'dagen zonder vlees'? 40 dagen vegetarisch eten om de ecologische voetafdruk te verkleinen en gewoon omdat het beter is voor het milieu! Ik doe al mee :) Ik eet sowieso al veel vegetarisch, het is gezond en beter voor de planeet!

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  2. ik doe minstens m'n best inderdaad maar ik zou het liever langdurig doen ipv 40 dagen :)

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  3. ja tuurlijk, ik ook :) maar ik vind het wel goed dat ze zo'n bewustwordingscampagne voeren!

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  4. oh yes absoluut, ik ook! Ik geef ook graag aandacht aan dat soort initiatieven.

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  5. Heel fijn om te horen dat je bewust eet, mijn verloofde en ik zijn beide vegetariers en ik vind de vegetarische keuken zeker niet saai! Ik vind groene asperges zooooo lekker, wil zeker eens dit proberen!

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  6. Looks damn tasty! Check you out Delia ;-D

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  7. yes ik ook, groene asperges zijn HEAVEN! alles is heerlijk samen trouwens, de smaken matchen perfect!

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  8. I'm so with you on this one! Have to try it out fo suuuure!
    And on the substitutes, I ate some of the best dishes with substitutes, it's all about your skills. Unfortunately I'll never have the recipes :'(

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  9. yummmm annebeth delicious..

    kisses rose jp

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  10. I just prefer it when someone honors the amazingness of proper ingredients instead of comparing it to the gold standard, i.e. meat! :D

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  11. Ik ben het er helemaal mee eens! Ik ben geen vegetariër maar eet wel bewust heel weinig vlees. Momenteel ben ik bezig met dagen zonder vlees, eens zien of ik het 40 dagen helemaal zonder kan trekken. Want hoewel ik erg weinig vlees eet, kan ik een biefstuk op zijn tijd wel enorm op prijs stellen, dus die ga ik wel missen vrees ik. Maar we zullen zien! Normaal eet ik wel heel weinig vleesvervangers, dus aangezien ik cold turkey ga nu, heb ik wel een voorraadje ingeslagen, ik ben benieuwd! Dit recept ga ik alvast ook eens proberen ;)

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  12. I have learned to appreciate more vegeterian dishes for the same various reasons but I still can't get past the courgette nor the papikra ahahah, I just can't but I gotta say it looks yummy.

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  13. Eating a lot of meat os also really bad for your health and has been linked in more than one ways to cancer...

    I'm a vegetarian and people always think I eat nothing but quinoa and tofu (which I don't eat) but there is SO much options that don't include meat and are absolutely delicious! I've never had risotto but I have to get to it :)

    Virginie ♥

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  14. that risotto looks delish. ive been trying to cut back on my meat intake as well lately. it can be hard but vegetarian meals are yyumm too

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  15. Ik eet zelf ook niet zo heel veel vlees en het hoeft zeker niet aanwezig te zijn bij elke maaltijd. Denk dat ik een beetje jouw visie erover deel :)

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  16. I usually dislike courgette too though! people usually cook with it in bigger chunks which makes it go slimy in my opinion, but if you slice it super thinly like I did here it is really delicious! :D Paprika is just too overwhelming a flavor for me, defines your entire dish. I only use it in my chili con carne :D

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  17. I am trying to eat less meat too; i feel a lot healthier when I do! Me and my mum love risotto so I will have to tell her about this recipe :D xx

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  18. That looks so much better than the one you had here! I am feeling the need to try it now, haha.

    I have been eating less and less meat after I moved to London, and I feel really good about it, for the same reasons as you. I won't give up eating meat, but I am happy to just have it occasionally instead of almost daily like I used to. And seasoning, parmesan cheese (or cheese in general) and TOMATO are the keys to tasty veggi eating!

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  19. yes and the taste was far superior too! :D And I am the biggest cheese and tomato fan in the world.

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  20. A major problem with meat is that SO much of it is wasted, but that's the case with nearly all foods in first world countries. How many grocery stories and bakeries throw out day-old bread or overripe produce (and can't even legally give still-good items to the poor or needy because it breaks health laws here in Canada). We're terrible over-consumers even when we're not consuming. There are many ways to make farming and meat-farming more eco-friendly and sustainable but they are all methods that cost money up front to bring into action. I just wish people would see how much they would be saving if they started being more careful and more attentive and willing to make sacrifices now for the good of the future. I'm always afraid to eat pine nuts lest I get pine-mouth *shudder*

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  21. I loooove Celynne's comment below because was just going to make a point about lots of other foods being pretty draining on the environment as well- esp wheat and rice, but the truth is a lot of it comes down to how it's made/grown and the waste involved in and after it, which certainly is the case in conventional meat. Kudos to you though Annebeth for bringing up another important, discussion-generating topic!
    http://dusanabotswana.com/

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  22. This recipe is wonderful! I made it for my boyfriend last week (this in itself is by no mean a small feat as I am a very unconfident cook & am v lucky to have a boyfriend who is an amazing at cooking) & we both loved it. It's lovely & refreshing & I will definitely be making it again this Spring. Thank you v much.

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  23. so glad you made it and that it was yummy!

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  24. yessss I totally agree! I hate how much stuff gets thrown away by supermarkets because of health regulations, but is that the price we necessarily have to pay for good health? It's all so complicated and frustrating :(

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