Creamy Mushroom Risotto
One of my most favorite things to make and to eat is a Risotto.
What is a Risotto?
It is an Italian rice dish made from arborio or carnaroli rice. It is classically cooked with hot broth in increments to soak up all the liquid and flavor, giving it a creamy consistency.
Why it is forbidden to substitute the rice? It is because of the high starch content found in arborio rice. It has the ability to keep its small grain shape even though it is cooked and stirred often. Because of the consistent stirring and the hot broth added in increments, it allows the rice to become creamy and decadent.
In this recipe, I do have heavy cream and parmesan cheese but it certainly does not need it to still be amazing.
Serve this underneath with shrimp in browned butter or grilled salmon on top. Other times I have even made this for a side dish along with a choice of meat or entree. One last thing, the white wine is essential to the fragrance and acidity of this dish. It is so creamy and heavy that the wine cuts it to lighten it up.
Risotto is a little more complicated than making a pot of rice for your side dish for dinner and it takes a little patience because it cannot be left alone for very long, but you will be thanked for it later.
Creamy Mushroom Risotto
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp. of butter
- 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
- ½ onion, diced
- 1 ¾ cup of arborio rice (do not substitute)
- ½ cup of white wine
- 6 – 6 ¾ cups of hot chicken broth
- ¾ tsp. of black pepper
- 2 tsp. of dried thyme
- 1 ½ cups of heavy cream
- 1½ cups of shredded parmesan cheese
- 4-5 cups of mushrooms, sliced or diced
- additional salt, if needed
- squeeze of lemon
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large sauce/saute pan on medium heat. Add the garlic, chopped onions, and seasonings until the onions have sweated. (2-3 minutes) Add the arborio rice to the pan and sauté on medium high heat, stirring constantly until the rice is very lightly browned. heavy cream, and parmesan and turn to a medium heat,stirring often. Lightly oil a sauté pan, on medium high heat and cook themushrooms to your liking, then add to the risotto, saving a few forpresentation on top. Keep it on a low heat until it is ready to serve.
- If you wish, deglaze the pan with white wine and stir until it evaporates and it cook out.
- Next add a ladle of hot chicken broth to the risotto and stir often until the rice absorbs and it cooks down. Keep repeating this step until the rice soaked up the liquid and "thickened" and is "al dente". (You may not need all of your broth.)
- To finish the risotto, after the rice is cooked, add the heavy cream, and parmesan and turn to low heat and stir often.
- Now onto the mushrooms, grab a cast iron pan or small pan and saute the mushrooms in some olive oil until they are crispy and golden. You may skip this step and add it into the risotto when you are adding in the broth, but I prefer to add it to the top of my risotto and to have them be crispy.
- After the mushrooms are finished, stir some lemon juice into the risotto and top with mushrooms and serve immediately. You do not want it to set for too long, otherwise it will get too thick. (If it does get too thick, just add a bit more broth to thin it).
