Monday, September 27, 2010

Pressure Cooker Brown Rice Risotto


You see, I googled that exact phrase. And found...nothing. I found other questions about it. I found comments like "you can't make risotto from brown rice" and "you can make risotto from short-grain brown rice, but it needs more time and more liquid". But nothing about doing it in a pressure cooker. I love the pressure cooker, because you can do regular risotto in 5 mins at high pressure.

So I found a chart that said brown rice needs 18 minutes at high pressure. And I have several risotto recipes in Lorna Sass' Complete Vegetarian Kitchen. So I decided to wing it.

And it turns out - you CAN make pressure cooker brown rice risotto. Sure, it's not like the real thing, but it's still pretty good. Just don't forget the salt. I usually use vegetable bouillon instead of stock, and the last time I bought my bouillon, the store only had unsalted. Okay, everything is coming out under-seasoned.

Pressure Cooker Brown Rice Risotto:
1 Tbsp canola oil: 0.03
1 small onion, chopped: 0.20
1 small zucchini, diced: 0 from a coworker
1.5 cup short-grain brown rice: 1.13
1 vegetable bouillon cube: 0.38
4 cups water
1 cup frozen peas: 0.40
2 oz goat cheese: 0.80
handful parsley, chopped
sprinkle parmesan: 0.25
salt and pepper to taste

Total: $3.19 for about 8 cups, or 0.40 per cup.

Saute onion and zucchini in oil until soft. Add rice and stir until coated with the oil. Add water and vegetable bouillon. Close pressure cooker. Bring to high pressure. Reduce heat to maintain pressure and cook 18 minutes. Release pressure using quick-release method.

Stir well and let thicken a bit. Add parsley, salt, pepper, peas, and cheeses.

7 comments:

MeloMeals said...

Wow, 18 minutes? My pressure cooker must be totally different.. when I cook brown rice or whole grains, I only have it at high pressure for 2 minutes then I take it off the heat and allow the pressure to release naturally..

I'm sooo going to do this ..I love risotto..

Anonymous said...

I just tried this and it was only about half done after 18 minutes. I heated it up to high pressure for another 16 minutes and it turned out perfect.

Anonymous said...

Thanks; I riffed off your recipe and it turned out delicious. A touch of white wine is a nice way to add some umame, as are mushrooms...

Lots of black pepper and garlic are also ace.

Anonymous said...

I haven't tried this exact recipe but I just made a rainbow chard, pine nut, and butternut squash version of it and it was amazing! I did add a pinch of parmesan cheese too but it would be great without it too. Best risotto I have ever made!

Anonymous said...

Turned out wonderful. Very tasty. I added mushrooms and white wine as well and served with garlic roasted asparagus. Yummy. Toasted walnuts would go well to give texture. I have a Fagor electric pressure cooker and found I needed a total of 33 minutes. It was perfect after this time. Will make again.

Rick Garvin said...

Made this last night and it was quite good. In my Fagor Splendid pressure cooker it needed to go 25 minutes to get the rice al dente.

Larzi said...

My pressure cooker makes brown rice perfectly Last night I tried the risotto and it ended up as soup. should I double the time next time? It was cooked fine, and the rice was nice, but maybe I put in too much stock, though with 3 cups of brown rice I seriously doubt it.