Mushroom Risotto
INGREDIENTS
- 6 cups chicken broth, divided
- 3 tbsps. olive oil, divided
- 1 pound portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 1 pound white mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 2 shallots, diced
- 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
- 1/2 cup dry white wine Sea salt to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 3 tbsps. finely chopped chives
- 4 tbsps. butter
- 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS
Cook Mushrooms
- In a saucepan, warm the broth over low heat.
- Warm 2 tbsps olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the mushrooms, and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Remove mushrooms and their liquid, and set them aside.
Cook Rissotto
- Add 1 tbsp. Olive oil to skillet, and stir in the shallots. Cook 1 minute, add rice, stirring to coat with oil, about 2 minutes. When the rice has taken on a pale, golden color, pour in the wine, continually stirring until the wine is fully absorbed.
- Add 1/2 cup broth to the rice and stir until the broth is absorbed. Continue adding broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring continuously, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente, about 15 to 20 minutes.
- Remove from heat, and stir in mushrooms with their liquid, butter, chives, and parmesan,
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Tips
1. Use hot stock. As you start to make your risotto, get your stock warm in another pan over medium heat. Hot stock will help keep the temperature from dropping each time you add it to the rice. And the faster your rice absorbs the liquid, the better your risotto texture will be.
2. Just keep stirring. I know. This isn't exactly a fun step, but you must persist. Arborio rice (the kind most commonly used in risotto) is extra starchy, which increases it's chances of burning. Walking away, even if only for a second, can make your rice start to stick (and burn). Like I said, I find the stirring kinda relaxing. If you don't, I understand. But at lease you can kinda zone out while you're doing it.
3. Use good cheese. You're making risotto which means you're probably looking forward to a nice meal. Which means you deserve GOOD cheese—the kind Queen Ina would approve. A freshly grated block of Parmesan is going to taste 1,000x better than the pre-grated fake stuff. Trust me.
