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This zucchini risotto uses a combination of miso butter, lemon, aromatic veg, shrimp, and fresh basil. It’s bright and packed full of flavor. Plus, it’s dairy-free, gluten-free, and can easily be made vegan.
Ingredients for Lemon Zucchini Risotto
- Extra virgin olive oil – to saute the vegetables
- Zucchini – this adds a nice texture and freshness to the risotto
- Leek – flavor builder and extra veg
- Onion – this adds flavor to the rice before the liquid is added (white or yellow is best)
- Miso butter – gives the dish a nice salty, tangy, umami flavor
- Lemon juice – adds brightness and freshness
- Arborio rice – short-grain rice that releases its starches when added to liquid and is what makes risotto so creamy
- Chicken or veggie broth – the liquid that the rice cooks in
- Shrimp (optional) – for protein and a well-rounded meal
- Fresh basil (optional) – for garnish
- Salt & pepper – to taste
How to Make Zucchini Risotto with Miso Butter
Sauté the vegetables. To a large skillet over medium heat, add 1 tbsp olive oil and sliced leeks. Cook until they’re starting to lightly brown, 2-3 minutes. Then add the zucchini and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Now add 2 tablespoons of the miso butter and the juice of 1 small lemon (about 2 tablespoons). Cook for a couple more minutes and remove the veggie mixture from the pan. Set it aside in a covered bowl.
Warm the broth. Gently heat your broth up in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
Cook the shrimp. Add the shrimp to the pan with the last 2 tablespoons of miso butter. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side and once cooked through, remove from the pan and add to the bowl of cooked veggies. Keep them covered to stay warm while the rice cooks.
Build the flavor. To your large skillet, add the last tbsp olive oil and the diced onion. Cook until it’s translucent. Now add the rice and toast it in the pan for about 1 minute.
Make the risotto. Add about 2 ladles of the warm broth to your rice and onion mixture, stirring frequently (about every 30 seconds). Once the rice has absorbed all the liquid in the pan, add another 2 ladles. Repeat this process until you’ve used up all the broth.
Add the final touches. Once done, turn off the heat and stir in your miso butter glazed vegetables and shrimp. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Top with fresh basil and a lemon wedge. Serve immediately.
Make it Your Way: Ingredient Substitutions
Please remember that recipes are meant to be used as guides.
How can you make this zucchini risotto using what you already have? Here are some ideas…
- No leek? ➝ Use shallots or sweet onion
- No miso butter? ➝ Dairy-free butter (or regular if not dairy-free) will also work, just make sure to salt your vegetables and shrimp while they’re cooking.
- Plant-based? ➝ Sub tofu for the shrimp or leave out completely. If you leave it out, only use 2 tablespoons of miso butter for the vegetables.
Helpful Tips
- Avoid cutting the zucchini too small. Ideally you want the zucchini to be about 1/2 inch thick. This helps prevent it from turning to mush in the pan. The skin is also what helps it hold its shape.
- Don’t rinse the rice before cooking. The rice has all of that lovely starch that gets released when added to a liquid and is what helps make the risotto super creamy.
- Avoid using cold broth. You want to use warmed broth. This ensures that the broth will be a similar temperature to the risotto so it won’t affect the cooking time. It also helps release the starches from the rice.
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Lemon Zucchini Risotto with Miso Butter
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 medium leek, white and light green parts, sliced about 1½ – 2 cups
- 2 medium zucchini, cut into half inch quarters
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 4 tbsp miso butter, divided* see notes
- 1 small lemon, juiced about 2 tablespoons
- 1½ cups arborio rice
- 5 cups broth
- 1 lb wild caught shrimp, peeled and deveined (optional)
- salt & pepper, to taste
- fresh basil (optional) for garnish
- lemon wedges for serving
Instructions
- To a large skillet over medium heat, add 1 tbsp olive oil and sliced leeks. Cook until they're starting to lightly brown, 2-3 minutes. Then add the zucchini and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Now add 2 tablespoons of the miso butter and the juice of 1 small lemon (about 2 tablespoons). Cook for a couple more minutes and remove the veggie mixture from the pan. Set it aside in a covered bowl.
- Gently heat your broth up in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the shrimp to the pan with the last 2 tablespoons of miso butter. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side and once cooked through, remove from the pan and add to the bowl of cooked veggies. Keep them covered to stay warm while the rice cooks.
- To your large skillet, add the last tbsp of olive oil and the diced onion and cook until translucent. Now add the rice and toast it in the pan for about 1 minute.
- Add about 2 ladles of the warm broth to your rice and onion mixture, stirring frequently (about every 30 seconds). Once the rice has absorbed all the liquid in the pan, add another 2 ladles. Repeat this process until you've used up all the broth.
- Once done, turn off the heat and stir in your miso butter glazed vegetables and shrimp. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Top with fresh basil and a lemon wedge. Serve immediately.
Notes
- If you leave out the shrimp and don’t substitute it, only use 2 tablespoons of miso butter for the vegetables.
Great texture, (not mushy like my usual mushy risotto)
Very pleasant aroma with wonderful flavor.
I had chicken on hand and it was good.
Also cut the recipe in half for my trial run. Half worked well but will make full recipe with guests.