I love Italian food so wheat/gluten free and dairy free versions are essential when eating well for Endometriosis and other autoimmune conditions. During my university days, risotto was a staple. I was in my second year when I was diagnosed with Endo (early 2009) and needed to move away from the Uncle Ben’s microwaveable one 
Risotto is such a comforting dish and great for enjoying with family and friends. When I started on my Endo healing journey upon my diagnosis, I started experimenting with different foods and flavours, to make dishes that would help me transition away from the typical dairy and wheat filled foods that were inflammatory for me. While I still have a little dairy in my diet (plain probiotic yoghurt), I wanted to reduce all other sources as I typically had too much dairy – I would add cheddar cheese on my evening meals and have a glass of milk most days. So it was really difficult to adjust at first – that’s why I totally understand how hard it is to change your diet. And also why I want to share my recipes. I also wanted to make the risotto free from wine because it’s another one we don’t want too much of with Endo.
Back then it was difficult to source many ingredients that are available these days, so actually it’s much easier to follow a healthy diet for Endo now, as well as the information getting out there with recipes and inspirational photos. Coconut milk, especially organic, is in most high street supermarkets now and brown rice is also more readily available. The other ingredients in this recipe are classic staples and cheap to buy – lemon, leek, onion and garlic. These latter three are great prebiotics which help the good bacteria to flourish in the gut.
So the risotto serves 3 as a main dish on its own, or more as part of a meal. Whenever I make this for friends, they have hoovered it all up if you want to add some wine or cheese to the recipe, feel free! Parmigiano Regiano is obviously a winner, but feta is also amazing with it – both traditionally made from sheep’s milk (but check the ingredients label). Maybe I’m just so used now to mixing flavours that somehow the leek, coconut milk, lemon and feta (optional) go together so well. And if you want to double it up, go for it – I would say use two frying pans of equal size so that you’re making two lots of the recipe to keep the flavour just right. If there are any leftovers, just put the remaining risotto in the fridge and use it within two days (as it’s rice), or put it in the freezer for a couple of weeks.
This recipe is suitable for a plant-based or vegan diet.
Enjoy xx
P.s if you make the recipe, let me know how it goes. I would love to receive feedback 🙂 All recipes on my blog are my own, so if you’d like to feature this or any of my other recipes, I’m happy with that as long as my name is mentioned. So just get in touch 
Recipe
Serves 3
What you’ll need: a large pan, a spatula
Ingredients
1.25 litres water with 1 + 1/2 yeast free stock cubes or 1.25 litres homemade vegetable stock
Brown rice x3 portions
1 leek, chopped
1 large shallot
4 cloves garlic
Juice of 1 medium lemon
400ml (1 can) organic coconut milk
Fresh or dried thyme (I used both)
Olive oil
Himalayan salt
Pepper
Extra water on-hand
Method
Basically, just the same as you would make any risotto. Really simple.
- Chop the onion, garlic and leek.
- Add a decent glug of olive oil to the pan on a medium heat.
- Add the onion and garlic to the pan, stir a little when needed.
- Once lightly browned, add the leek and the lemon juice – mix well for a couple of minutes.
- Add the rice to the mixture, along with the coconut milk and stir for another 2 minutes to coat it well. At the same time, add some salt, pepper and the thyme.
- Start adding the stock to the pan to cover the risotto mixture, and allow to absorb the water.
- Add a little more salt, pepper and thyme, if prefered (I do at this stage).
- Continue adding water in stages until the rice has absorbed all of it.
- If the rice needs more water, add more until the rice is just right.
- Serve with fresh thyme on top.
NaturallyIndulgent by Kate 