Sunday, December 4, 2011

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...

Secret Recipe Club'






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.


20 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you liked it! Of all the risotto recipes I've tried, this one is still by far my favorite one.

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  2. Your risotto looks so creamy and I love that you used mushrooms.

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  3. I love risotto too. One of the tricks it to hold back a touch of the liquid and add stir in just before serving. This looks amazing - great choice for SRC!

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  4. Looks great! I love risotto...especially this time of year.

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  5. My fave risotto is a mushroom risotto. Looks really great!

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  6. That risotto looks incredible! I lovea good mushroom risotto. Great choice! Speaking of vegetarian, I'm not one, butt mostly eat the sides without turkey on T-Day lol

    Looks like you had a great vacay for T-Day!

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  7. Yum, I love risotto...a perfect winter dish, I bet this would warm me up! :)

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  8. Great recipe. Bookmarked. I am thinking to top this with sauteed shrimp. Yum!

    Following your lovely blog. I am also inviting you to join Autumn Blog Hop 2011 at Momma's Lounge ( http://olahmomma.com/momlounge ) where you meet more mom bloggers; shout away; add your giveaways and/or blog and business links; and get featured by sharing your crafts, recipes and interesting musings. I blog at http://olahmomma.com

    Thanks and have a great day!

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  9. This recipe is just my kind of food. Looks delicious!

    Thanks for stopping by my link party last week. Today we have a Wonderful Wednesday Holiday Hop going. I'd love it if you and your followers would stop by and leave your links!

    http://www.ducksnarow.com.

    Happy Wednesday!

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  10. Risotto is one of our favourites. This looks like a really healthy, delicious and comforting meal! Thank you for sharing it with the Hearth and Soul hop.

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  11. mushroom risotto is one of my favs but I've never tried it at home this looks delicious I'd love you to add this to my what we wore and made party over at http://raegunwear.blogspot.com I've been hoping to do a soup round up soon!

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  12. Looks wonderful! A friend of mine made some in my house, so I watched her at work. It was divine, and we had mushrooms, too. Maybe some asparagus or something with it. Anyway, I've always meant to learn how, but it seems that you have to be so attentive to it, stirring, stirring, stirring...I like that you've provided this step-by-step tutorial that I can refer back to when I get up the nerve to try. Thanks for linking it to Food on Fridays this week!

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  13. Your mushroom risotto looks nice. Thank you for sharing this classic recipe with Vintage Recipe Thursday.

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  14. Hi Judee,
    Your Creamy Mushroom Risotto looks so delicious, I can almost taste it. Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday. Hope you are having a great week end and come back soon!
    Miz Helen

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  15. This is being featured on My Sweet and Savory. Looks scrumptious.

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  16. Yum! This looks so good! I love anything mushroom!
    I featured your recipe on this week's Terrific Under Ten Tuesday!
    http://athomewithk.blogspot.com/2011/12/terrific-under-ten-tuesday-42.html

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  17. I've never made a risotto either. Thanks for sharing with Simply Delish.

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  18. This is my kind of dish! thanks for sharing with the Hearth and Soul hop.

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Your comments are appreciated. I love knowing who is stopping by to read my posts! Have a great day.

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