Easy, Yummy Hostel Dinners: One Pot Veggie Risotto

Risotto is super easy and so yummy, but it does take about a half an hour, so it’s one of the longer recipes on here. But so much reward for so little work.

Since I like to cook each night, I buy ingredients for 4 meals, but split it up so I’m just cooking a single serving each night. TO cook for 2, double the recipe. To cook for 4 (or to make your shopping list for 4 nights), just quadruple the ingredients.

To make 1 serving:

• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 of an onion
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1/2 cup arborio rice
• 1 small sweet potato
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• about 1-1.5 cups water
• 1/4 zucchini
• handful of parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper
• Optional: 1-2 pieces of bacon or salami*

*If using the bacon, chop it up small and add with the onion and garlic in step 1. The recipe is really good with a bit of added bacon, but I don’t use it very often because I don’t trust my soft-sided cooler to keep it properly cold when I have to drive for several hours on transfer days. I have also used sliced ham or salami and just mixed it in at the end. This is good too and doesn’t make me worry about it staying cold enough. But the recipe is still yummy without any meat.

Tools:

• cutting board
• knife
• sauté pan
• spatula
• 1/2 cup measurement

Put the oil in a medium sized sauté pan on medium-high heat. Mince the garlic and chop the 1/4 onion and add to the oil. While the onion and garlic are softening/browning, chop the sweet potato into small 1/2 or quarter inch cubes. Add to the pan. When the onion and garlic are softened, add the 1/2 cup of arborio. Sometimes I add a little extra oil here if it’s really dry.

After a minute or two of “toasting” the arborio, add the half stock cube and pour in about 1/4 cup of water. Add the zucchini. Stir. Turn the heat down to medium or medium-low depending on the strength of the burner.

Then, you just proceed with making risotto like the instructions on the bag. Basically, that means that when the 1/4 of water is absorbed, add another 1/4 cup. Stir occasionally and keep a close on it to make sure it doesn’t burn. Each time the water is absorbed, add another 1/4 cup. The bag will give exact measurements for how much water you need, but I just taste a piece of rice after 10-15 minutes and then occasionally after that until it’s firm but not crunchy. Also, stab a fork into your sweet potato to make sure it’s ready too. Ideally, they’re both ready at the same time. (I always found that when one was ready and the other was not far behind).

Scoop it all into a bowl and add the parmesan cheese and salt and pepper. Let the cheese melt while you wash up your pan, spatula, cutting board, and knife. (And dry them and put them away–that’s key to communal cooking). Then, the cheese is perfectly melted and you are ready to eat!