Weekend Recipe – Sun Dried Tomato Risotto
June 11, 2010
Thanks to Toronto Naturopathic Doctor, Mubina Jiwa for sharing a fun recipe right before the weekend.
From Dr. Jiwa:
Tell me who doesn’t like Risotto? I think there are few people in this world that can resist the rich flavours and creamy texture of risotto. As much as I like it I am always hesitant to order it because it’s often calorie-rich, laden with fat and many carbohydrates. That’s what I thought until a friend forwarded me this recipe. I have to admit, I was a little nervous to try it out at first…I had imagined myself stirring a pot tirelessly for hours, I thought it seemed so complicated but trust me it was quite seamless. Ok, perhaps having my boyfriend stirring helped, but all joking aside, it was delicious and I made it a little more nutritious.
Sun-dried tomatoes, high in antioxidants and rich in flavour are a good choice to add a lot of taste and less calories. I often find that risotto is low in protein and fibre so I decided to add more vegetables and threw in mushrooms, my favourite, and chicken for protein. Since then, I have also used sweet potatoes with the skin as another fibre and low-glycemic carbohydrate option. We sauteed the chicken with the onions and threw in the mushrooms with the sun-dried tomatoes. In hindsight, I might have thrown the mushrooms in slightly earlier.
Bon Appetit! Yours in Health,
Dr. Jiwa
www.essenceofhealth.ca
about 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon diced onion
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 cup Arborio rice
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
2 1/2 tablespoons rehydrated, chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1. Heat the stock in a saucepan and keep hot over low heat.
2. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a separate medium-sized pot. Add the onion and cook until it turns translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
3. Add the rice to the onion mixture, stir and turn the heat to low. Add about 1/4 cup of the hot stock to the rice mixture, and stir slowly until the stock is absorbed.
4. Continue to add the stock 1/4 cup at a time, stirring slowly, letting the rice absorb the stock before adding more.
5. The risotto is cooked when it is creamy on the outside and slightly firm (al dente) in the center, about 20 to 25 minutes in all. Stir in half of the Parmesan cheese and half of the sun-dried tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If the risotto is too thick, add a little more stock until it becomes creamy.
6. Divide the risotto into serving dishes and sprinkle with the remaining cheese and sun-dried tomatoes.
NOTE: To rehydrate the tomatoes, place in a bowl and cover with warm water. Leave the tomatoes in the water until they have plumped up, about 20 minutes. Strain the tomatoes and save the water to add to the risotto with the chicken stock for added flavor
I don’t know about you but when it’s snowy and cold or even rainy and cold I tend to eat whatever I feel like and I’m not so keen to exercise outside either! I was happy when Dr. Mubina Jiwa, a naturopathic doctor who regularly contributes here at Handmade Evolution, emailed me some tips for healthy eating after the holidays. I know that the better I eat the better I feel so I’ll be putting as much of this into practice as I can. Probably starting next week though…
I don’t know about you – but when I start thinking about the holidays, thoughts of sugarplums, candy canes, gingerbread and dozens of other lovely seasonal foods dance through my mind!
Toronto Naturopathic Doctor, Mubina Jiwa, will be stopping by every week or two to share insights into healthy living, work life balance and other topics. We know that many of you lead busy lives, as do all of us here at Handmade Evolution – so we know that the tips from Dr. Jiwa will be really helpful to our overall health and well being! To learn more about Dr. Jiwa and her Toronto practice visit her website 
