Mushroom Risotto

Now just for you a recipe to use your yummy chicken stock. One of my favorite cold-weather dishes is risotto. It is fairly easy to make if you know the technique. The beauty of Italian food is it is simple but you have to know the “how” in almost every dish. Most dishes from Italy will have as few as 2-3 ingredients but if you don’t know exactly how to get pecorino smooth in pasta water for example you will just end up with a goopy mess. As a matter of fact, when I was putting together this recipe for you, I taught my son how to make it. Easy. It does however take a bit of time so that is where you need to plan ahead. This is not a dish that you can throw together in 10 minutes. It takes time and patience. I promise it is well worth the investment.

I am going to give you the recipe and the technique all in one place so please make sure you read the recipe through completely and feel free to ask me questions before you attempt this belly-warming cold-weather treat.

You can use this as a main dish served with a big salad or use it as a side dish with a lean protein such as beef or chicken. Traditionally it is a main course but make it serve your needs. It also reheats quite nicely. Add a little liquid, stir, and pop it in the oven until it is warm again.

Time to create: 30 minutes.
Makes: 4-6 servings depending on serving size.

Ingredients:

• 1 quart (32 ounces) of chicken, beef or vegetable stock. I prefer chicken as it is a light choice and doesn’t overwhelm the balance of the dish. HOT! I love to bone broth for this recipe. There is a recipe here for you. I usually make this recipe when my bone broth is ready so I have it already hot and ready for use. If you are pulling stock directly from your chicken stock pot or Instantpot make sure you strain it off as it goes into the risotto. If you are not in the process of making chicken stock you will need to have your chicken stock hot before using it in this recipe. Place your chicken stock in a soup pot on your stove and warm it to a simmer for use in the recipe. Keep it simmering throughout the cooking process.
• 1 pound or 500 grams of dry Arborio rice.
• 1 cup dry white wine.
• 4 tablespoons of butter.
• 4 cups of mushrooms. Mixed variety.
• Sliced.4 cloves of garlic.
• Chopped.1/2 white onion.
• Chopped.1 cup of parmesan cheese.
• Salt to taste.

Tools:

• 1 soup pot to keep your 32 ounces of chicken stock hot.
• 1 thick bottom pot or large Le Creuset risotto pot.
• 1 rubber spatula.
• 1 ladle for transferring your stock from one pot to the other.
• A mesh strainer if your chicken stock needs to be strained.

Directions:

1. Make sure your chicken stock is simmering before you begin. This is critically important.
2. In a separate pot (referred to as risotto pot from here forward) from your chicken stock melt 1/2 the butter over medium.
3. Once your butter is melted add your mushrooms, garlic, and onion to the risotto pot and cook until the onion is transparent. Set aside in a separate dish.
4. Add your rice to the risotto pot.
5. Sauté rice until it is coated in butter stirring frequently with your rubber spatula making sure to get all areas of your pot so your rice doesn’t have a chance to get too hot and caramelized.
6. Once your rice is coated with butter, add your white wine to the risotto pot.
7. Allow the rice to absorb the white wine while stirring the mixture.  
8. Once the wine is absorbed into the rice add 4 ounces of hot chicken stock to your risotto pot.
9. Stir the risotto mixture until the chicken stock is absorbed. This can take up to 3-5 minutes.
10. Add another 4 ounces of hot chicken stock to your risotto mixture.
11. Stir the risotto mixture until the chicken stock is absorbed.
12. Repeat steps 10 and 11 until all of the stock is used and absorbed into the rice. The total time to work in all of the stock with patience is typically close to 20-25 minutes.
13. Remove from heat.
14. Mix in 3/4 cup of parmesan cheese.
15. Salt to taste.
16. Garnish with remaining parmesan cheese.Serve immediately.

I usually serve the risotto with a salad. Risotto is a blank canvas. Once you get the technique you can really create a lot of flavor profiles to meet your needs. It is a fun creative dish that is filling. Although as I mentioned earlier, it is not low-fat or low-carb. It is a heartwarming dish that will serve you well before a big run the next morning or just a periodic feel-good dish. It sure is good on cold snowy days. Just keep an eye on your portion size and enjoy. If you decide to make this recipe I would love to hear your feedback.

How can you change the ingredients to create a new dish? I would love to hear your ideas.