Rebel Risotto
Italian Comfort Meets Camper’s Fire
Walk the Path
Next: Ennerdale Hot Pot (cooked outdoors with Georgia) →
This recipe is part of the Stepping Stones Cookery Pathway.
Table of Contents
✨ Before We Begin…
This risotto breaks tradition — all the stock goes in at once. Lightened with celery, it’s easy to make yet full of flavour.
‘Must be best food offer, of any genre, in Kendal. Hugely accomplished cooking and very much recommended.’
Tony P, Kendal; Food Customer
The Cook’s Mind
What This Recipe Helps You Practise
- Toasting rice in butter.
- Adding lemon for brightness.
- Cooking rice to the perfect bite.
- Balancing starchy texture with celery.
- Finishing with herbs and zest.
Make-Ahead
- Can be made earlier and reheated with stock.
- Best served freshly finished for texture.
Freezer-Friendly
- Freezes less well, rice may soften.
- Better kept chilled and reheated with liquid.
Key Substitutions
- Risotto rice: long grain rice; it’s not the same for it’s not as starchy.
- Celery: substitute fennel for a sweeter note.
Cooking Parlance
- Al dente: firm to the bite, not soft or mushy.
- Reduction: simmering to thicken the sauce.
Ingredient Focus
✨ Risotto Rice — starchy and yielding.
To Ingredient Focus: Arborio Rice
Serving Suggestions
- Serve with salad leaves and balsamic tomatoes.
- Add fresh parsley and lemon zest.
- Enjoy as a midweek meal or dinner party dish.
Multi-Purpose Recipe
This recipe has more than one life…
- Turn into arancini the next day.
- Top with roasted vegetables for variety.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Simpler than classical risotto, but still delicious.
- Zesty and light, not heavy.
- A good introduction for beginners.
Watch It Being Made
Join the Members’ Room →
A calm, organised space where every lesson sits in order, ad-free, with Julia on hand when you need help.
Introduction
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Handpicked to Go With This One
A few recipes that play well together — flavour friends, not just neighbours.
- Blessed Vegan Garlic Bread – Cooking Hacks To Up Your Game
- Moreish Melty Mozzarella – Perfect for Pizza, Pasta and Panini
- Ultimate Vegan Bolognese Sauce
Waste Less: How To Use Up Your Ingredient Stash!
Got something spare — a handful, a spoonful, or the end of a packet? These tags help you find other ways to use it. It’s a small step toward cooking intuitively and wasting less❣️
agave syrup, balsamic vinegar, brown onion, celery, cherry tomatoes, fresh garlic, fresh herbs, lemon juice, maple syrup, red wine vinegar, risotto rice, salad leaves
Rebel Risotto Recipe
Rebel Risotto
Breaking tradition, this risotto is made with all the stock added at once – ideal for low-water or campervan cooking. It's a very easy dish and a good introduction to risotto though not cooked in the classic way. With celery added to lighten the texture and add crunch, this is light and easy to digest. Zesty with lemon, it’s as good for a special dinner as it is for a quick midweek meal.
Photographed truthfully. If you cook it, yours will look like mine.
Ingredients
Ingredients for the risotto
- 160 g brown onion | unpeeled weight; peeled and sliced into petals
- 15 ml rapeseed oil
- 1 pinch salt
- 100 g celery | diced at a size to taste; larger = more rustic, smaller = more fine dining
- 10 g stock cube
- 600 ml water
- 15 g butter
- 160 g risotto rice
- 15 ml lemon juice
- 1 clove fresh garlic | grated
- salt | to taste
- ground black pepper | to taste
Ingredients for the topping
- 128 g cherry tomatoes
- 5 ml olive oil
- 1 pinch salt
- 15 ml balsamic vinegar
Ingredients for the salad dressing
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 tbsp extra virgin oil
- ½ tsp maple syrup | or agave syrup
- 1 pinch ground black pepper
To serve
- salad leaves
- lemon | wedges and zest
- fresh parsley | neatly chopped
- fresh basil or fresh rocket | optional
Instructions
Prepare the onion
- Peel and finely chop the onion160 g brown onion
- Cook the onion in some oil with a pinch of salt on very low to make it soft, translucent and caramelised.15 ml rapeseed oil, 1 pinch salt
- Chop the celery and make up the stock.100 g celery, 10 g stock cube, 600 ml water
Cook the rice, add the butter
- Add the butter and melt it completely. Add the rice and toast the rice in the butter.15 g butter, 160 g risotto rice
- Add the lemon juice. Stir.15 ml lemon juice
- Pour in the stock and stir. Adjust seasoning. Put a lid on and cook on a low heat.Check the risotto every few minutes.
Add the other ingredients
- Grate in the garlic and add the celery. The garlic will infuse the risotto with flavour and the celery will give bite and lighten the starchy load on the palate.1 clove fresh garlic
- Stir and put the lid back on, and cook on a low heat. When it's finished cooking, the rice grains should have a tiny bit of bite to them, just at the centre; you don't want puffed up 'blown' rice. Check the seasoning.salt
Tomatoes and plating
- In oil, cook the tomatoes, adding some salt.128 g cherry tomatoes, 5 ml olive oil, 1 pinch salt
- Add the balsamic vinegar.15 ml balsamic vinegar
To serve
- Make the salad dressing: dissolve the salt in the vinegar, and then add the remaining ingredients.1 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 pinch salt, 2 tbsp extra virgin oil, ½ tsp maple syrup, 1 pinch ground black pepper
- Carefully spoon some risotto into a bowl, add some salad leaves on the side, a wedge of lemon and some chopped parsley. Zest a lemon is a final touch!salad leaves, lemon, fresh parsley
Notes
- This reheats OK, not great, but definitely edible!
- You could drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil but really, it might get a little greasy.
- Any remaining herbs: chop up and put into storage boxes and pop into the fridge. I find supermarket herbs prepped and stored this way last a fair few days.
Nutrition
Calories: 492kcalCarbohydrates: 78gProtein: 8gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0.2mgSodium: 1356mgPotassium: 492mgFiber: 5gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 540IUVitamin C: 26mgCalcium: 65mgIron: 4mg
Nutritional values are estimates only and will vary depending on specific ingredients used. Nutrition is per serving. Information is for the main recipe, not optional accompaniments.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
COPYRIGHT
© The Golden Polar Bear, 2025. Recipes and photography by Julia Savory. If you share this, please pass it along with kindness and if possible share a link back to this site. #ForTheAnimals
Photographed truthfully. If you cook it, yours will look like mine.
Next Steps?
Wave a wand and learn how to cook well. When you become a member, you get a quiet, steady place to learn – with all your videos, recipes, and pathways organised so you can cook with confidence rather than guesswork. And when you’re stuck or unsure, you can ask me directly.
A calm kitchen. Real support. Your own rhythm.
Prefer a gentler rhythm? Sign up to The Magic Spoon mailing list and I’ll drop by your inbox now and then. No noise, no clutter – just the small, steady things I’m learning and ideas to make our cooking lives easier.
‘Totally recommend the cookery courses. The meals are really tasty and full of flavour (not like most of the vegan mush I make for myself).’
Kerry B, Cumbria; Black Labrador Member
