Mushroom risotto

I love a good mushroom risotto. There is something very comforting about a spoonful of gooey warm rice infused with the earthiness mushrooms. I try to use a variety of mushrooms to maximize volume and flavor while keeping the cost reasonable. A 100% chanterelle mushroom risotto would be very flavorful but would cost something like $10 a serving!

A good mix of mushroom would be 33% flavorful “exotic” mushrooms, 33% normal while button mushrooms, and 33% something in between like portabella. You can really get creative with this and experiment. Don’t forget dried mushrooms! If you can find it, you can get something called “Better than Bouillon – mushroom base” to use as your cooking broth. This will make your mushroom risotto tastes very flavorful even if you use normal mushrooms.

Cooking risotto is not hard – just takes patience and constant monitoring. When done properly, the rice is al dente, not mushy, and the texture is creamy without using a drop of cream. Make sure you use proper risotto rice – arborio. Carnaroli is anther type but it’s usually more expensive.

4 servings

1 clove of garlic, sliced

1 shallot, diced

a sprig or two of thyme

2 cups of asorbio

2 cups of broth, vegetable or mushroom, kept warm on stove

4 cups of different types of mushroom, chopped in chunks

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Toss mushrooms, garlic, thyme, and one tablespoon of olive oil in an oven safe dish. Roast for 10-15 minutes or when mushrooms becomes aromatic and start to release their juice.

Meanwhile, in medium heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil to a large pan and saute the shallot. When shallot starts to soften, put in the rice and coat well with the cooking oil. Ladle some broth into the pan and stir. Continue stirring until the broth is absorbed by the rice (1 – 2 minutes). The liquid in the pan should be simmering but not sizzling. Adjust heat as necessary. Add in more broth, one ladle at a time, and repeat (this is the patience part).

When the mushroom is ready, add them to the pan of rice. Mix well and continue adding one ladle of broth, stir, and wait for absorption. It should take about 25 minutes. At this point, the rice should look creamy. Test the rice to see if it’s cooked through. The inside of the rice should be soft and not gritty. If it is, it’s not cooked all the way yet. Although the pan should be uncovered during the cooking process, I find it helpful to cover it for 5 minutes at the end. Salt and pepper to taste. Keep in mind that the broth base probably already has salt so make sure you taste the risotto before adding more salt!

Add freshly grated parmigiano cheese and serve.