Mushroom Risotto
Risotto is one of those basics that once mastered gives you infinite possibility. Like other pasta dishes, you can pretty much chuck in whatever you want, a nice creamy mushroom or pumpkin and sage risotto for the fall, fresh peas and spring vegetables in the early spring, lobster when feeling decadent. The dish is a bit labor intensive, but it is worth the effort. There is something about it that I find romantic, and I highly recommend adding it to your bag of tricks.
My close friend Kristy visited a little over a week ago, and upon finding some intriguing black mushrooms at my neighborhood butchers, we turned to each other and suggest “Mushroom risotto?” at almost the exact same moment. It was perfect, served with a nice simple green salad. Earthy and creamy and comforting… exactly what we were looking for for catching up with close friends on a cold fall evening.
Ingredients:
2 pints chicken stock (as needed)
2 shallots, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 1/2 cups of arborio rice
1/2 cup of dry white wine (as needed)
chopped mixed mushrooms
thyme
sea salt
pepper
olive oil
parmesan and pecorino cheeses
Directions:
Warm your stalk in a small saucepan. In a separate large pot begin with a good glug of extra virgin olive oil. Add your chopped shallots and garlic and cook over low heat. As the vegetables soften and become translucent add your chopped mushrooms and a few large pinches of fresh thyme (remove from the branches). As the mushrooms start to soften add your rice and turn up the heat. Stir the rice so that it doesn’t burn, but toast it until the rice looses it’s opaque color and becomes translucent. At this point add your half cup of dry white wine. Keep stirring until all of the wine has been absorbed by the rice. This is basically the key to risotto: add liquid, stir til absorbed, add more and stir again. Once the wine is absorbed, add your first ladle of the stock. At this point turn the heat down to a simmer so that the rice doesn’t cook too quickly. Keep adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring slowly, allowing each scoop of stock to be absorbed before adding another. This process should take about 15 minutes. Taste the rice to make sure that it is cooked, and continue until the rice is soft. Add salt and pepper to taste. If you run out of stock before the rice is done continue with boiling water. Once the rice is cooked, remove from heat, add a knob of butter and a nice handful of blended parmesan and pecorino cheese. Stir this well and let the risotto absorb the cheese. Serve with fresh thyme and enjoy!
