Black Rice Risotto with Fennel Slaw

A marvel (and a weirdo) of a dish, that is worthy of some love

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Now! To this weeks recipe worth making? I present to you…A black rice risotto.

While I may run a meat-heavy recipe-free cooking school in the South of France, I am admittedly a hefty vegetarian (and plant-based) cook. This is likely surprising, sure. Especially considering my upcoming cookbook (with a release date far in the future! But progress has been made!) is also very French in it’s handling of meats. (See also: Ample)

But the reality is? I am just prone to mostly on the more vegetarian side of cooking, especially when it comes to composing a dish. In my young adult years, I even went through a raw vegan phase. Highly-unrecommend {1.5 outta 5 stars} as a full-time way of eating, but cooking this way for a spell did teach me to take wildly bland starting places and turn them into delights, because even when I went raw vegan I refused to eat things without flavor.

How this translates to how I eat more omnivore style now? I am always on the lookout for delicious vegetarian food, ways to take wholesome grains and veggies, and turn them into whole meals. This little risotto is exactly that. And while most black risottos require squid ink, this tasty number is black due to the actual rice used.

It’s called ‘Venere’ in Italian. And it is ostensibly an antioxidant packed powerhouse. (I am not a nutritionist, but I am a fine researcher, but also…let’s take all this with a grain of salt because…We’re still trying to figure out nutrition information and how it works and anti-time I see something claiming to have ‘anti-cancer’ properties, it does give me pause).

What makes black rice unique from a very clear and test scientific point of view? A very very high concentration of anthocyanins–same things that gives Green Puy Lentils their blue spots and the same compounds that make blueberries/açai magic for our bodies too. And those anthocyanins are abundant in black rice, and have some clinical proof to be anti-inflammatory among other really cool pharmacological potentials. #nerdystuff

It’s also a nice source of protein.

Ultimately this risotto is delightful, nutty, and a full meal all in one.

Black Rice Risotto with Roasted Veggies and Fennel Slaw

Assumptions:

On hand and within reach you have… Kosher Salt, Black Pepper (to be fresh ground), Olive Oil (I loooove Graza and their sizzle and drizzle set. I’d use sizzle for this recipe for the most part)

Equipment:

Chef’s Knife

Two saucepans

Mandoline

Ingredients to Procure and Prep: