Umami flavored mushrooms, garlic, piney rosemary, shallots and parmesan cheese – this will be the most wanted side dish at the table. Just add the wine and you have yourself a classy and amazing meal. When you think about making risotto you may think it’s a complicated or intimidating dish to make. Think again! ? Risotto is actually very simple and easy to make. Follow my super simple and hassle-free easy mushroom recipe and you will have delicious, warm and comforting risotto in no time. Each time you make it, you’ll get better and gain more confidence too! Risotto is a creamy northern Italian classic that tastes a lot like the rice version of creamy mac and cheese. The risotto making process allows the rice to release its starches, creating a velvety sauce with soft but slightly al dente grains. The dish is cooked until the broth reaches a creamy consistency (without the cream). Mushrooms are so versatile and are magical in risotto. Plus, they are packed with antioxidants, B vitamins and contain a good amount of protein. Besides the tasty mushrooms, I love making this risotto recipe because it incorporates the delicious flavors of delicate shallots, onions, garlic and balanced with a relaxing taste and smell of rosemary. Lastly, this easy mushroom risotto gets christened with a blanket of parmesan cheese. YUM.
Arborio rice (crucial to use arborio and not a long-grain rice such as basmati or jasmine. These varieties do not contain enough starch to achieve the creaminess we all adore about risotto).
Carnaroli and Vialone nano rice are two other rice varieties worth mentioning that work for making risotto. Although, they may be more difficult to find in stores.
Chicken broth: vegetable broth may be used as well. Olive oil: I like to use a combination of olive oil and butter when cooking risotto. Some people prefer using one over the other. (I.e. oil only for seafood based risottos). Butter: Butter is a better choice for vegetable based risotto’s. Shallot: I also like to use a combination of shallot and onion in this risotto but you can choose to use one or the other. Onion: White or yellow onions work best. Mushrooms (baby bella , white, or whatever you prefer) Garlic: fresh or jarred garlic Rosemary: the fragrant rosemary brightens up this easy mushroom risotto. Parmesan cheese: It’s important to take the pot off of the heat before adding in the Parmesan. This gives the easy mushroom risotto a silky texture and it’s the perfect finishing touch!
Arborio rice is a short-grain Italian rice that has a high starch content that imparts a creamy texture, and the thickness of the grain helps it stay intact during the cooking time. If you use a long grain rice such as basmati or jasmine, you’ll end up with a pilaf style dish instead.
What to eat with risotto?
Risotto can be used as a side dish with baked fish or chicken, roast beef, or garlic prawns. When served as a main, I like to serve it with a simple salad.
Pro tips to making perfect risotto
Use warm broth. Keep broth at a simmer in a saucepan. This will keep the temperature from dropping each time you add it to the rice. This process will help the rice absorb the liquid faster resulting in a better texture. Stirring the rice frequently is key. Not constantly, but frequently. You can take 30 second breaks! ? Stirring the rice constantly will add air into the risotto, cooling it down and making it gluey. Yet if you don’t stir enough, the rice will stick to the bottom and burn.
It’s important to stir frequently because risotto’s creaminess comes from the starch generated when grains of rice rub against each other. So do stir often, but feel free to give your arms (and the rice) a break.
The rice should be cooked at a medium high heat throughout the cooking because if you cook the rice on a low heat, it will never cook. But you also want to avoid extremely high flames and rapid boils. Make sure the pot you are using isn’t too wide of a pot. If your pot is too wide, the rice will cook in a thin layer and won’t be able to bump and grind enough to generate starch. Another problem: you will have hot and cold spots in your pot. Don’t rinse the rice. Doing so will remove its sticky consistency. Washing the rice, strips off the starch that is the key element to maintaining that classic creamy texture. And we want creaminess! Toast the rice in the pan for only about a minute or two. We don’t want the rice to get burned and we don’t want hard rice either.
