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Chef Linda
Linda Soper-Kolton, Chef, came to the Sanctuary as a guest chef to share her love of compassionate cooking in our then-fledgling culinary program. Lured by the magic of the Sanctuary, her love of animals and the urgency of our mission, Linda stayed on to lead and grow the culinary program, inspiring and educating with love, patience, and delicious food.
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Steel-Cut Oat Risotto

This steel-cut oat rissoto should be one of your favorite risotto recipes! Light, creamy, and full of fresh spring colors and flavors, it's also vegan and heart-healthy! While most risotto can easily be a scrumptious vegan food by using vegetable broth and eliminating the cheese, using steel-cut oats makes it extra nourishing. Typically, risotto is made using arborio rice, a particularly starchy type of rice that yields a creamy result. Steel-cut oats create a similar creaminess, but with less stirring. And oats are high in fiber and good for your heart!

steel cut oat risotto swap
Be sure to use steel-cut oats or Irish oats for this risotto recipe: They're small and hard, like tiny gravel. Unlike old-fashioned or rolled oats, steel-cut oats have not been steamed and rolled and therefore take the longest to cook. They provide a similar texture to rice-based risotto. And to make this a seasonal favorite, use butternut squash in the cooler months for a colorful and delicious dish.

Ingredients

 6 to 7 cups vegetable broth
 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
 2 tablespoons olive oil
 1 bulb fresh fennel, ends and tops trimmed, quartered and thinly sliced, about 2 cups
 2 leeks, trimmed, thinly sliced, washed, about 1 cupor substitute 1 cup finely chopped onion
 1 tsp salt
 1 lb button mushrooms, sliced
 2 large cloves garlic, minced or grated
 1 1/2 cups steel-cut or Irish oats
 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
 Ground black pepper, to taste
 Chopped parsley, for garnish, optional

Directions

1

Heat broth and lemon juice to a gentle simmer in a small pot.

In a large, deep, pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add fennel, leek, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, or until the fennel and leeks have softened partially. Stir in the mushrooms and garlic. Cook for another 8 minutes, until the mushrooms have started to release their moisture and turn brown.

Stir in the oats, coating them in oil, and toasting them for a couple of minutes. Reduce the heat to low and add the hot broth 2 ladlefuls at a time. Stir to combine and cook until the broth absorbs before adding more. Continue until all but the last couple of cups of broth are gone. Stir in the peas and the last of the broth and cook for a few minutes more. The whole process should take less than 30 minutes and the risotto should be tender, loose, and somewhat "brothy" when done, not dry and sticky. If the oats have not cooked through and the broth is gone, add more broth if you have it or use water, 1/4 cup at a time, and continue cooking until the oats are soft. Taste and season with more salt and black pepper, if desired.

Serve, garnished with parsley.

Steel-Cut Oat Risotto
IngredientsDirections

Steel-Cut Oat Risotto

DifficultyEasyCook Time40 mins
YIELDS
Serves 4 to 6

INGREDIENTS

 6 to 7 cups vegetable broth
 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
 2 tablespoons olive oil
 1 bulb fresh fennel, ends and tops trimmed, quartered and thinly sliced, about 2 cups
 2 leeks, trimmed, thinly sliced, washed, about 1 cupor substitute 1 cup finely chopped onion
 1 tsp salt
 1 lb button mushrooms, sliced
 2 large cloves garlic, minced or grated
 1 1/2 cups steel-cut or Irish oats
 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
 Ground black pepper, to taste
 Chopped parsley, for garnish, optional

DIRECTIONS

1

Heat broth and lemon juice to a gentle simmer in a small pot.

In a large, deep, pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add fennel, leek, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, or until the fennel and leeks have softened partially. Stir in the mushrooms and garlic. Cook for another 8 minutes, until the mushrooms have started to release their moisture and turn brown.

Stir in the oats, coating them in oil, and toasting them for a couple of minutes. Reduce the heat to low and add the hot broth 2 ladlefuls at a time. Stir to combine and cook until the broth absorbs before adding more. Continue until all but the last couple of cups of broth are gone. Stir in the peas and the last of the broth and cook for a few minutes more. The whole process should take less than 30 minutes and the risotto should be tender, loose, and somewhat "brothy" when done, not dry and sticky. If the oats have not cooked through and the broth is gone, add more broth if you have it or use water, 1/4 cup at a time, and continue cooking until the oats are soft. Taste and season with more salt and black pepper, if desired.

Serve, garnished with parsley.

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2 Comments

  1. I made this last night, and there were a few glitches in the directions. The lemon juice and the green peas from the ingredient list aren’t mentioned in the directions. The lemon juice is on the same line as the olive oil in the ingredients, and I have no idea if that means it shouldn’t be there. (I did think the lemon juice helped the flavor, but ended up doing lemon wedges as garnish.)

    Also, an instruction reads “Stir in mushrooms are garlic”, which was surprising because the garlic wasn’t on the ingredient list. I figured the amount and preparation of the garlic was effectively “to taste”.

    It was very nice, regardless, and better as leftovers the next day, but that might be because I got impatient with the cooking last night and may have taken it off the heat sooner than was ideal.

    Reply

    1. Hello and thanks for reaching out. I’m so sorry there were errors in the recipe and I thank you for pointing them out. We migrated our site a couple of years ago and in the mad dash to bring over the content, there were some sloppy errors apparently. I reviewed and updated the recipe. Thank you again!!

      Reply

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