Mushroom Parmesan risotto, anyone?

Risotto has always been a favorite dish of mine to order in restaurants.  My mother and grandmother never cooked it at home, which I now find surprising.  I suppose people have a misconception that it is a difficult dish to cook properly, but I find risotto dishes to be simple and oh so satisfying.  

Sure, it's a somewhat labor intensive dish because the risotto needs to be stirred very regularly and the temperature needs to be regulated so that the rice cooks and absorbs the broth slowly.  But at dinner time, aren't most of us chatting and walking around the kitchen with whatever errands, anyway?  That's what I do, and in between I stir and check on the risotto. 


Now that risotto is part of my regular repertoire, I have the basics down and can play with the other ingredients, which can really be just about anything.  So far I've made butternut squash, lemon, asparagus, sun dried tomato, and of course, mushroom risotto.  

My mushroom risotto preparation differs from many recipes you'll find online in that I dehydrate the mushrooms in the oven first.  This is something I learned to do with mushroom mac and cheese, and since I like the flavor of the oven roasted mushrooms decided to do the same for the risotto.  The alternative preparation would be to saute the mushrooms in a pan and then set aside cooked mushrooms and the reserved broth to be added to the risotto once the rice is near done.  I think the mushrooms can be too wet with that method, so instead I present to you my own recipe: 


Mushroom Parmesan Risotto

Ingredients: 

1 & 3/4 c. arborio rice
4 tbs olive oil 
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium sweet onion (I used a small portion of yellow onion that I had leftover and a medium red onion)
1 c. white wine
6 c. vegetable broth (plus some water if you start running low on broth)
8 oz package of white or baby portobello mushrooms
1 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more to taste
1/4 c. chopped parsley
kosher salt, to taste
fresh cracked pepper, to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Wash and slice mushrooms, then toss with 1-2 tbs olive oil, kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper.  Spread out the sliced mushrooms on a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet, and dehydrate mushroom in the oven for about 30 minutes.  Keep an eye on the roasting mushrooms, as cooking time will vary depending on large the slices are and on your personal preference for how well done  you want the mushrooms.  

In the meantime, begin heating the vegetable stock on the stove-top, as the rice will absorb the heated broth better.  Then, mince the garlic and chop the onion.  Preheat a large saute pan over medium high heat and swirl in about 2 tbs of olive oil.  Once the oil is hot, add garlic and brown for about 3 minutes.  I like to lower the heat at this point, because there's nothing worse than burnt garlic and there is less room for error cooking at the lower temperature for longer.  I then raise the heat just before adding the chopped onion.  Saute onions until they become tender and somewhat translucent, about 8 minutes.

Next, lower the heat to medium low, add the arborio rice and mix well with the onion, olive oil, garlic combination, moistening the rice.  You want to saute the rice along with the onion for a couple of minutes before adding the white wine.  Stirring consistently, watch the rice closely as the wine will absorb quickly.  Then add a ladles worth of vegetable broth, and continue to stir consistently (not constantly, but don't leave the risotto alone for more than a minutes or so without giving it a quick stir - if you have to abandon the stove top for longer, reduce or shut off the heat momentarily).  As the rice absorbs the broth, continue to ladle in more in small portions.

I find that it usually takes 35 to 45 minutes to cook the risotto.  I usually add the rest of the vegetables, in this case mushrooms, about 25 minutes in to cooking the rice.  Add mushrooms and continue adding broth as needed.  If you run out of broth, adding some water is fine, but be sure to heat cold tap water up before adding to risotto.  When the risotto is tender but still al dente, add Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt and pepper to taste, and stir thoroughly.

Serve immediately, top with a little extra Parmesan cheese and maybe a pinch of parsley, and enjoy!

I enjoyed this dish so much for dinner that I ate the leftovers for breakfast :) True story.

Oh, and by skipping the cheese, you can easily make this vegan.  Really, the risotto is creamy enough without the cheese, it's not a big sacrifice to the dish.