If you’re looking for a good appetizer to serve, look no further than the classic risotto. It’s the most common way of cooking rice in Italy, and with good reason! This Italian fare is a savory rice dish served in a creamy broth, and can include a wide range of ingredients and flavors.
Mushrooms and risotto are a perfect pair. There are so many mushrooms to choose from, it can be a little hard to figure out where to start. After a little experimenting, we decided to use an even combination of two mushrooms for a slightly more complex flavor without drowning out the taste of any individual mushroom. In this case, we used 1 cup oyster, and 1 cup portobello. If you want to make this dish vegetarian friendly, substitute out chicken stock for vegetable stock. Keep reading below for this delicious risotto recipe…
Two-Mushroom Risotto
(makes 4-6 servings)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup oystermushrooms, cleaned, trimmed, and cut into 1/2″ pieces
- 1 cup portobello mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed, and cut into 1/2″ pieces
- 2/3 cup dry white wine
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 1/3 cup peeled and minced shallots
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme
- 2 cups arborio rice
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh parsley or chives for garnish
Directions
- Bring the chicken stock to a simmer in a saucepan.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter in a separate, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Add the mushrooms and shallots and saute about 5 minutes.
- Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add the rice and stir to combine.
- Stir in the thyme.
- Add the wine and bring to a boil to reduce the liquid by about half (3-4 minutes).
- Add the stock 1/2 cup at a time, stirring to keep the rice sticking to the edges of the pan. (almost constantly).
- Add the next 1/2 cup only after the stock is almost completely absorbed by the rice. This should take about 25 minutes in total.
- You will end up with a rice that has been just cooked and is slightly chewy.
- Stir in Parmesan cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper. Use parsley or chives for garnish.
- Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Simply Recipes