Mushroom Risotto

My mom's favorite dish to order when it's on the menu at a restaurant! Finally decided to make my own recipe. Risotto is a creamy Italian rice dish that can be paired with so many veggies and topped with protein. Feel free to swap the mushrooms out for your favorite veggie! From peppers to asparagus the combinations are endless.

Ingredients:

~ 3-4 servings

• 2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 5-6 cups broth (I used beef which gave it a richer taste, but any type will work. It may change the flavor, but you can try to match the broth to the protein you are cooking with it)

• 2 tablespoons of butter (divided)

• 1 cup of uncooked rice (preferably arborio, but any rice will do. just keep in mind each rice has a different absorbtion level, so you may need more or less broth)

• 1/4 cup Pinot Grigio

• 1 small onion diced

• 3 garlic cloves minced

• 1.5 cups of portobello mushrooms sliced

• 3 bay leaves

• sprinkle of salt + more to taste

• 1/8 tsp pepper + more to taste

• 1/8 tsp garlic powder + more to taste

• 1/4 cup Grated Parmigiana Cheese

• Dried or Fresh Parsley for garnish

Instructions:

1. Heat up your broth in a small pot.

2. Heat up 2 tbsp of olive oil on medium heat in a separate pan and add 1 tbsp butter. Let it melt then add the onion. Sauté for 5 minutes.

3. Add in the garlic and cook an additional 2-3 minutes.

4. Add the mushrooms and bay leaves and cook about 8 minutes until the mushrooms are soft. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder. Mix and remove the veggies with a slotted spoon to a separate bowl.

5. Add the last tbsp of butter to the pan and let it melt. If your pan seems a little "dry" add a little more olive oil. Add in your rice. Coat it in the butter and oil juices and cook about 3-5 minutes to "toast" the rice. You do not want it to burn, just toast. Aka give it SOME color.

6. Add the wine and mix. Pause and let the beautiful smell soak in. Cook until the rice absorbs the wine.

7. Once the wine is absorbed, the magic is ready to happen. Use a ladle to spoon some of the previously heated up broth into the rice. Make sure to always keep the broth warm. Mix and cook until the rice absorbs it. Add another ladle and repeat until all of the broth is gone.

8. Taste the rice. Is it hard still? Add more broth and let it soak up. 6 cups should be enough, but better safe than sorry!

9. Add the veggies back in (minus the bay leaves) and the cheese. Mix together. Give it a taste and see if it needs any more salt, pepper, and garlic powder. It shouldn't, but if you feel it needs it go ahead! Serve immediately with a garnish of parsley and enjoy :)

Tips:

• Feel free to use any other vegetables you enjoy or have on hand! Get creative!! Bell peppers, asparagus, tomatoes, long hots, different mushrooms, cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, etc.

• Don't like cheese? You can skip it. I actually forgot it once and still enjoyed it very much! If you can't have dairy, skip the cheese and the butter. Just use olive oil instead or a dairy free butter.

• Want to add some protein?

  • For fish like scallops, salmon, lobster or shrimp: cook the seafood in the pan first. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, or old bay or truffle, or cajun, etc (whatever gets you taste buds going). Remove then begin at step one. If you can find it, use seafood broth instead. When you add the veggies back in include some of the seafood with it. Save some to garnish on top if you want to make it fancy.

  • For chicken or steak: cook the protein in the pan first. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, truffle, cajun, etc (whatever gets you taste buds going). Remove then begin at step one. Try to correlate your broth with the type of protein you are using. When you add the veggies back in include some of the protein with it. Save some to garnish on top if you want to make it fancy.

• Elevate the meal with some truffle and truffle oil! Cook your veggies in the beginning steps with some truffle oil. Opt for a drizzle of truffle oil and truffle shavings when serving.

  
  

This recipe is one of my favorites and I truly enjoy to make it for my loved ones. It tastes amazing and is for sure a labor of love . Seriously... because risotto requires your utmost attention for about an hour or else it will not come out right. SO, if you make this meal make sure to block out about 45 minutes of distraction free time. No stress though :) you can do it!!!

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