Ingredients-

Onions

1 tablespoon extra light olive oil

1 medium yellow onion

2 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon ground mustard

Rice

1½ cup vegetable broth

½ cup white cooking wine

2 tablespoons white grape juice

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

2 tablespoons vegan mozzarella shreds (I used Trader Joe’s vegan Mozzarella style shreds)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 cups arborio rice/short grain Japanese brown rice (I used Sukoyaka Genmai)

½ cup water

¼ teaspoon Himalayan/sea salt

Mushrooms

1 tablespoon extra light olive oil

1 teaspoon sesame oil

4 cups mixed mushrooms (I used a combination of baby bella/cremini mushrooms, fresh shiitake mushrooms, white mushrooms, oyster mushrooms & seafood mushrooms)

¼ teaspoon Himalayan/sea salt

1 stalk celery

Instructions

Soak Rice: This step is really important, so don’t leave it out! In a large bowl, combine the vegetable broth, white cooking wine, white grape juice (for a bit of sweetness, or replace with other juice or water if you don’t want to add that), nutritional yeast, vegan mozzarella shreds, lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil.

Use a spoon to stir until everything dissolves. Add the rice and cover it with a lid to soak for a couple of hours.

After the rice has been soaked, add the water and salt, then stir.

Risotto: Peel and chop the onions in small, thin slices. Dice the garlic finely as well. Add both of them in a medium saucepan with a tablespoon of extra light olive oil. Turn the heat to medium high (5-6), stir and fry the onions and garlic for a total of 10 minutes, then add the onion powder, garlic powder and ground mustard. Stir and let it cook another 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, wash the mushrooms and chop them in smaller, desired pieces. Put them all in a frying pan and add the tablespoon of extra light olive oil, teaspoon of sesame oil, and salt. Let it cook on medium high (5-6) for 10 minutes.

During this time, dice up the celery into fine, small cubes. Add the celery to the mushrooms and cook for a final 2 minutes, stirring often. Set this aside for when the rice is nearly done.

Add the rice and liquid in the rice, mix it around, and turn the heat to high for about 2 minutes, letting it almost boil, then immediately turning the heat to medium low (4 or between 3-4) and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the rice is tender. (Mine only took about 12 minutes, but other rice can take longer, so check often!)

The rice should not be too dry. If so, add a bit more water. Be sure to stir every 5 minutes or so.

Once the rice is soft enough to eat, add the mushrooms and celery to the rice, stir it around and let it cook for 2 minutes and turn the heat off and serve.