Black rice, packed with antioxidants and protein, is one of the healthiest foods on the planet. It is, in fact, a superfood. In this one-pot recipe for Black Rice Risotto with mushrooms and caramelized onions, it is also super-delicious.
This one’s going to be a short post today because it’s 10 pm now and the only reason my tired eyes are open is because I can’t wait to share this recipe with you: my Black Rice Mushroom Risotto with Caramelized Onions.
You know I am always looking for easy weeknight recipes to brown bag for lunch, and this one is one of my favorites so far. Black rice, if you’re not familiar with it, is a glutinous rice which makes it perfect for risottos. It cooks up purple rather than black and tastes nutty and quite delicious.
It’s also a nutritional star — much healthier than white and even its brown counterparts. It’s packed with antioxidants and ounce for ounce it has more protein and more iron.
But forget about all that for a moment and think of this: isn’t it a little special eating something that — if you were born a few centuries ago– you could have only eaten if you happened to be the emperor of China? True story.
So I promised a short post and a short post it will be. Enjoy the recipe, all, and if you feel just a little blue blooded after eating this incredible dish….well, you could always go to London and look up the queen.
Ciao.
Black Rice Risotto with Mushrooms and Caramelized Onions
Ingredients
- 1 cup black rice
- 4-5 cups of hot water (vegetable stock is even better)
- 3 tsp olive oil
- 3 medium onions, one chopped and the other two thinly sliced
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1/4 cup of white wine, optional
- 12 button mushrooms, sliced
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 cup cashews
- 2 tbsp white miso paste, optional
Instructions
- Make the cashew cheese for the risotto by blending together the cashews and the miso with enough water to make a smooth paste. If you don't have miso you could use 2 tbsp nutritional yeast, or leave it out altogether and just use the cashew paste.
- Heat 1 tsp of oil in a saucepan.
- Add the chopped onion, season with some salt, red pepper flakes and ground black pepper and saute until softened, about three to four minutes.
- Add the garlic, saute for a few seconds, then add the mushrooms and white wine.
- Turn up the flame to medium-high and cook until the wine has evaporated and the mushrooms have taken on a nice sheen.
- Add the black rice, season with more salt and pepper to taste, and saute for a minute. Now add 1/2 cup of water and let it cook until the water evaporates, stirring frequently. Just before the rice dries completely, add another 1/2 cup of water. Repeat, stirring the risotto frequently, until the rice is cooked but still has a bite to it. This process takes some time, so be patient.
- Now add the cashew cheese and mix well. The risotto should have a creamy, slightly soupy consistency when done. Add more salt if needed.
- Now heat the remaining 2 tsp of oil in another saucepan, add the sliced onions and sugar with a pinch of salt, and saute, stirring frequently, until the onions turn golden brown.
- Top the risotto with the caramelized onions and serve hot.
Nutrition
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More risotto recipes from the archives:
Ellen Lederman says
April 11, 2014 atAmazing! I would never have thought to use black rice for risotto—thought it HAD to be arborio (or the risotto police would get me). I love black rice and have plenty of it, thanks to big bags from Costco. Yum! Thanks for sharing….when you are exhausted. Get some R and R this weekend!
The photo of the black rice risotto looks very much like a Korean black bean dish usually served on top of noodles (They usually put pork in it, but sometimes I can get them to leave it out.)
Vaishali says
April 11, 2014 atHi Ellen, black rice works very well in risotto because, like Arborio, it’s glutinous. And yes– I plan to get lots of rest this weekend, although it’s supposed to be beautiful out here so I might get more recreation. 🙂
Priya says
April 13, 2014 atOmg, never knew that we can make risotto with black rice, that bowl of black rice risotto is just mindblowing, love to finish that bowl.
Hasita says
April 14, 2014 atHi, any idea which retailers ship black rice to India? I tried it in several stores but no one knows what it is!
Vaishali says
April 14, 2014 atHi Hasita, I don’t but maybe a reader from India might have an idea? If someone reading this does, please share. Thanks!
Quirky Eats says
April 16, 2014 atHasita, depending on where you’re located in India, you might be able to get black rice at one of these places:
– a health food store,
– a store (or supplier) that deals in organic food including grains,
– a big grocery store that stocks organic grains and/ or “novelty” food items.
But if you can’t, I think it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have a go at this recipe with red rice.
Mary @ Mary's Test Kitchen says
April 17, 2014 atOoo I’ve never had black rice before! This sounds good!
Sasha says
August 17, 2014 atI notice that the recipe calls for 4-5 cups of water, but as I read the directions (i’m making it now, yeay), it only says to add a 1/2 c of water initially then another 1/2 cup of water to finish cooking. That’s only 1 cup, what happened to the other 3-4 cups?
Thanks, this looks and smells amazing so far (i’m sure by the time the response is posted, i’ll have figured this out!) 🙂
Vaishali Honawar says
August 17, 2014 atHi Sasha, as the rice absorbs the water, add half cup more, and so on until you’ve used up all the water or your risotto is cooked. I guess I am too late but no doubt you figured it out. 🙂 I will clarify in the recipe.
Ellen says
March 8, 2018 atBy chance I came upon your lovely website. I have never made risotto before and decided to give it a go. I used oyster mushrooms as that is what I had in my kitchen. This dish tastes absolutely fantastic. I made the cashew cheese and used less miso as I was concerned it might be too salty. Oh word.. it tastes so wonderful I ate half of the cashew cheese! Thank you for this wonderful recipe.