Name: Curried Carrot Risotto
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 45 min
Ingredients: 6 medium carrots (Roughly chop half into large pieces and dice half very small. ); ½ tbsp olive oil; 1 tbsp brown sugar; 1 tsp kosher salt; 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 large shallot (diced small); 1 cup Arborio rice; 1 tbsp curry powder (I used Colombo powder which I found in Martinique but any yellow curry powder would be fine.); 1/2 cup dry white wine; 8 cups chicken or vegetable stock (Brought to a boil and then kept warm on the burner; you might not need all of this stock.); ¼ cup half & half (Substitute full fat coconut milk to make this vegan.); 1 tbsp butter; kosher salt (to taste); ground black pepper (to taste)

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Last week this idea for curried carrot risotto came to me when I think of all of my best ideas: in the wee hours of the morning when I am unable to sleep. I am sure it popped into mind because I recently took inventory on my spice collection which reminded me of the jar of Colombo curry powder I’d forgotten about.

I’m not sure why I connected a spice I discovered in the French Caribbean with a northern Italian rice dish. Maybe that’s what’s so special about a wandering mind at 2 a.m.

As “luck” would have it, our Thanksgiving plans changed at the last minute this year. The pandemic and some new local travel restrictions forced us into a holiday dinner for two, but our pantry was pretty bare bones. Luckily, I had Arborio rice and carrots, so I figured I’d give this recipe a shot. It totally worked!

The key ingredient to this dish, besides the curry powder, is a puree of roasted carrots. Roasting the carrots concentrates the carrot flavor. Adding this puree at the end of cooking the risotto adds extra creaminess and super carrot flavor to the final dish.

♥ Related: Harvest Brown Rice Salad

The curry powder’s blend of warm spices also adds an awesome depth of flavor. You can make this carrot risotto with just a handful of pantry ingredients but it’s still extremely flavorful.

Because the creaminess of this dish mainly comes from the starch in the rice, you can easily make this vegan. Replace the the half & half with full fat coconut milk. I think it would play well with the carrot and curry. Heck, it might even be better with coconut milk! Replace the butter with vegan butter or just a glug of olive oil.

Video: Watch Me Make This Recipe

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Curried Carrot Risotto

A fairly simple but flavorful carrot risotto made mostly from basic pantry ingredients plus some patience and time.

Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine Caribbean, Italian

Keyword Carrots, Comfort Food, Rice, Risotto

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

6 medium carrots Roughly chop half into large pieces and dice half very small.
½ tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large shallot diced small
1 cup Arborio rice
1 tbsp curry powder I used Colombo powder which I found in Martinique but any yellow curry powder would be fine.
1/2 cup dry white wine
8 cups chicken or vegetable stock Brought to a boil and then kept warm on the burner; you might not need all of this stock.
¼ cup half & half Substitute full fat coconut milk to make this vegan.
1 tbsp butter
kosher salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Heat the oven to 375F. On a baking sheet, toss the roughly chopped larger carrot pieces with ½ tsp. olive oil, 1 tsp. salt, and 1 tbsp. brown sugar. Cook for about 30 minutes stirring every 10 minutes. The carrots should be caramelized and soft. Blend with about ½ of chicken stock in a blender or food processor until you have a smooth puree. Set aside.
In a medium pot, heat 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the shallot, finely diced carrot, and a pinch of salt. Cook for about 3 minutes until the vegetables are soft and the shallots are translucent.
Add the curry powder and cook for about a minute to toast which will heighten the flavor.
Add the rice to the pot and stir to coat in the oil and curry powder. Add a big pinch of salt, too.
Add the white win to the pan and stir. Cook until the wine has been absorbed by the rice.
Turn the heat down to medium-low. At this point, you're going to add the hot stock to the pot one ladleful at a time stirring often. Here's how I like to do it: stir a ladleful of stock into the risotto. Stop stirring for a minute or so and let the stock come back to a simmer then stir again. Repeat. Don't add another ladleful of stock until the previous one has been absorbed by the rice and when you scrape the bottom of the pot with the spoon you, the rice will part and take a moment to run back together.
Keep adding stock in this way until the rice is tender. It will probably take about 45-minutes. You might not use all of the stock. You might need more and if that's the case, you can actually just add some water to the stockpot to finish cooking the risotto.
Finish the risotto by stirring in the carrot puree, half and half, and butter. Taste and season with more salt and some black pepper to your liking.

Notes

Make this vegan by using vegetable stock, coconut milk, and vegan butter.
Here’s a link to Colombo powder if you’d like to try it. I love it and it really reminds me of our trip to Martinique!

Things You Might Need For This Recipe

Colombo Curry Powder

Arborio Rice

Fresh Stuff

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