Risotto is a no-frills dish that requires minimal effort and attention, but it can also be incredibly convenient recipe when you’re running low on ingredients in the fridge. It can be paired with many things, including meat, fish and seafood, vegetables, and a variety of cheeses.
However, one brand shared their take on the traditional Italian dish that makes one major swap. In a recent TikTok video, the Bold Bean Co decided to forgo the key ingredient of rice for something more up its streets: beans. In fact, they gave it an entirely new name.
Bold Bean Co Said: “This is not a risotto, this is a bean-otto. If you haven’t guessed, we’re using beans instead of rice.
“Just like a risotto, the starchiness and the stock you use are fundamental to its deliciousness.”
They captioned the video: “BETTER THAN A RISOTTO. It’s healthier, quicker and most importantly – TASTIER.”
For this bean-otto recipe, the Bold Bean Co uses white beans or cannellini with fresh courgettes, garlic, “lashings” of Parmesan, crunchy pine nuts, and a healthy glug of olive oil. The brand said: “It is such a winner in this weather.”
Foodie fans shared their thoughts in the comments. Genevieve said: “Can’t wait to try!”
Gemma agreed, “Looks delicious,” while Suzyd commented, “Since I tried your butter beans I can’t eat any others! They are next level.”
So if you want to put a twist on your traditional risotto, this is what you’ll need.
Ingredients
- 1 jar of Organic White Beans/Queen Cannellini Beans with their bean stock
- 2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to serve
- 2 courgettes, one coarsely grated, one sliced into 0.5cm rounds
- 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
- Zest and juice of ½ lemon
- 1 heaped tbsp creme fraiche, or plant-based alternative
- 45g Parmesan cheese (or vegan alternative), plus extra to serve
- 15g parsley, leaves finely chopped
- A good handful of fresh basil leaves
- A handful of pine nuts or sunflower seeds (optional)
Method
Squeeze out as much liquid as you can from the grated courgettes. Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan for two to three minutes until golden, set aside.
Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the sliced courgettes with a pinch of salt and cook for seven to eight minutes until starting to brown, stirring occasionally.
Then, add the grated courgette and garlic and cook everything for a further two to three minutes until the courgettes soften. Grate in the zest of half the lemon.
Pour in the beans with their bean stock, swill the jar quarter with water and pour that in too – this acts as a stock. Stir to combine.
Season well with cracked black pepper. As the white beans are well seasoned, we recommend tasting before adding salt.
Reduce the heat to low and stir in the creme fraîche and parmesan. This all comes together fairly quickly as you don’t want the creme fraîche to split.
Stir in the chopped parsley and tear in most of the basil leaves, saving some for garnish. Check for seasoning and add the juice of half a lemon.
Serve the beans into bowls, grate over some more lemon zest and some more parmesan. Scatter over the toasted pine nuts, the remaining basil and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.