Creamy Mushroom Risotto

I do a lot of cooking, but for some reason I had never attempted or desired to make a risotto.
Don't get me wrong.I like risotto and have eaten and enjoyed it in restaurants and on cruises, but for some reason, I never ever thought about making it myself.

Risotto is a tasty side dish made with a special variety of rice called "arborio" which looks like little white pearls. The rice itself is naturally gluten free. About a month ago,  I bought a small box ( Bellino brand) in the supermarket and went on search for a recipe.

I browsed through cookbooks and the Internet to find recipes.
What a versatile dish; I found out that there are all kinds of risottos. ..   I found recipes for  vegetable risottos, plain quick and easy risottos, meat and fish risottos, etc. but the recipe I choose was from a blog called,  The Cookaholic Wife  which is my Secret Recipe Club assignment for December.

I made it,  and  my husband thought it was better than any risotto he ever tasted. Although it is a fabulous side dish, we dug in and ate ( too much) so it was our main course. I just love the abundance of mushrooms and creamy texture of the recipe. The mushrooms make it hearty and meaty and the arborio rice is DELICIOUS.

.Mushroom Risotto  adapted from The Cookaholic Wife
Ingredients:
4 cups vegetable broth
16 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1 small onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, diced ( we like garlic)
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1 cup white wine
2 tbs. unsalted butter
2 tbs. Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:
1. In a medium pot, heat the vegetable broth over low heat until warm and set aside.
2. Saute mushrooms in butter until slightly softened. Transfer the mushrooms to a plate and cover to keep warm.
3. In a saucepan , saute onions and garlic in olive oil ( or spray)  until the onion is slightly soft. Add  1/2 to 1 tbs. more olive oil to the skillet and then the arborio rice.
4. Stir frequently with a wooden spoon to coat the rice and let it absorb the oil and is a very pale golden color. Pour in the white wine and stir until the rice has absorbed the wine.
5. Then, add approximately 1/2 cup of broth at a time, stirring until the rice absorbs it. There should be a milky looking trail when you're stirring around the rice. Continue to add the  broth 1/2 cup at a time and stirring until it is absorbed. This should take about 20 minutes total to use all of the stock.
6. Reduce the heat to very low and add the butter, Parmesan and mozzarella cheese. Stir until the cheese has melted and then add the mushrooms back to the skillet. Stir until everything is combined.
7. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Step by Step

      

I was very pleased with the outcome.

** vegan variation -I also made a vegan variation, where I left out the parmesan and mozzerella cheese and used 2 cups of coconut milk mixed with a cup of water for my broth.  That was delicious too...








Please leave a comment so I know you stopped by. Scroll down to the end of the post and click on comments. I will be sharing this recipe on the following blog hops as well.