Date-night-ins are wonderful for a few reasons:
- If you have kids, getting a babysitter can be expensive and a little complicated. I know that for us – especially now that we hvae 3 kids, one of which is still super young – we don’t leave a babysitter to handle bedtime on her own. Less because we are worried about the kids being okay and more because I don’t really want to strap a solo babysitter with all three of them for bedtime – yikes for her. So we don’t go out until the kids are in bed at 7:30.
- Dates can get really pricey! I love going out on dates, but it’s good to mix our “out” dates with “in” dates to balance the budget a little bit.
- Covid! Whether some stuff is still closed or you’re just cautious about being out and about, date-night-ins are particularly useful right now.
For date-night-ins, we always either make a “fancier” dinner (or one that feels fancy at least 👆🏻) or get takeout somewhere fun. Usuuuually sushi if I’m being honest. It’s either cook something fancy in or get sushi takeout. Because #sushi, nahmean?
This risotto is THE perfect fancy date-night-in dinner. Not only is it luxurious to eat, it feels luxurious to make too. You just stand near the stove, slowly stirring and adding broth while the risotto softly bubbles away in front of you. Visualize this happening with some slow music in the background + a glass of wine. Did I paint that picture for you? It’s an enjoyable experience.
Let’s talk details:
- The vegetables: we’ve got red onion, carrot, mushrooms, and beets. They roast until tender and slightly caramelized, and it’s the most delicious, earthy topping for the bright, creamy, rich risotto.
- The risotto: we start with a flavor base of garlic and shallot. We add the rice and toast for a few minutes. We deglaze with white wine. And then we slowly stir in broth over the course of about 20 minutes. Finish everything off with some cashew cream (or heavy cream/half and half if you are good with dairy) and some lemon zest + lemon juice to brighten things up.
In each perfect bite, you get the earthy roasted vegetables plus the creamy, tender, rich risotto – the lemon zest and juice brightens up the risotto perfectly so the whole thing isn’t too heavy. It’s heaven. The best date night recipe!
Here’s the recipe! Happy date night 🥰
PrintDate Night Creamy Roasted Vegetable Risotto
This creamy, lemony risotto is topped with earthy roasted veggies for the perfect luxurious bite! Perfect for a date night in or any evening you’re feeling a little extra fancy.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 7 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
For the roasted veggies
- 1 red onion, cut into thick slices
- 8 oz baby bella mushrooms, quartered
- 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 2 beets, peeled and diced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
For the risotto
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 2 shallots, minced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup white wine, we used pinot grigio
- 2 cups arborio rice
- 6 cups veggie broth (chicken broth works too)
- 1/4 cup raw cashews
- 1 lemon, zest and juice
Instructions
For the roasted veggies
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Add all the diced veggies to a parchment paper lined baking sheet and toss with the olive oil + plenty of salt and pepper
- Roast for 20 minutes, toss, and roast for another 20 minutes
- Season to taste with salt and pepper
For the risotto
- Add your olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add your shallot and garlic + salt and pepper and cook until soft
- Add your arborio rice and cook, stirring constantly, for a few minutes
- Add the wine and stir until it has absorbed into the rice. It’ll happen pretty quickly. Season well with salt and pepper
- From here, add your broth 1/2 cup – 1 cup at a time. After each addition, stir often and gently simmer until the broth is mostly absorbed. When absorbed, add the next 1/2 – 1 cup of broth. Do this until all 6 cups have been used
- To make cashew cream, add your raw cashews + 3/4 cups water to a blender. Blend for about a minute until totally smooth. If you don’t have a high powered blender like a Vitamix or Blendtec, you’ll have to boil the cashews for 10 minutes first and then drain (or soak overnight and drain).
- Once the last of the broth has been added to the rice and been absorbed, stir in your cashew cream and then turn off the heat. Add your lemon zest and lemon juice. Stir to combine and season to taste with salt and pepper
- To serve, spoon risotto into wide bowls or a plate and then top each serving of risotto with roasted veggies!
Notes
If you don’t want to use cashew cream, you can add a couple big glugs (about about 1/4-1/3 cup) of half and half or heavy cream instead.
10 Freestyle Smartpoints (blue plan)
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup risotto, a little less than 1/2 cup veggies
- Calories: 317
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 42 mg
- Fat: 6 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 55 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 7 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
If you make this or any of my other recipes, be sure to Instagram it and tag @thegarlicdiaries so I can see!
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