This mushroom risotto recipe has become one of my go to recipes since I discovered the fabulous taste of risotto. Risotto is packed with intense flavors and combinations and can be served as a side dish along with chicken, with a salad, or even on its own. Simply put, risotto is an Italian rice dish that is cooked in a broth in order to create a creamy taste. Risotto is made with Arborio rice which comes from the Italian region of the Po River Valley. Also, a perk of Arborio rice is that it is Gluten Free!
I first discovered risotto while watching Giada at Home on the Food Network where she made a gorgonzola and porcini mushroom risotto. When I tried making Giada’s recipe, I found that the gorgonzola was somewhat overpowering and took away from the flavors of the mushrooms. She also called for dried porcini mushrooms in her recipe which I found to be a little overpriced. Because I wanted to figure out a way to make this dish more simplified and also more affordable, I came up with my own Mushroom Risotto with parmesan cheese and crimini mushrooms.
Mushroom Risotto with Parmesan Cheese
This recipe is for 4 to 6 servings.
Ingrediants:
1 Medium Onion diced
8-10 Brown Crimini Mushrooms sliced
4 cups of low-sodium chicken broth
3 tablesoons of unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups of Arborio Rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 teaspoon pepper
Directions:
In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Add the diced onion and mushrooms and sauté until tender about 3 minutes on medium high heat. Add the Arborio rice and incorporate into the mushroom and onion mixture. Add the wine. Slowly begin to add the chicken broth about 1/4 cup at a time and let the liquid condense until its almost evaporated. Continue to add more chicken broth following the same process until you have condensed all of the liquid. As soon as the last of the broth has condensed, try the risotto to see if it is still hard or needs more liquid. If it does you may need to add more chicken broth.*
Once the risotto is cooked, remove from heat. Add the salt and pepper and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese and stir to incorporate into the mixture. Serve warm and coat the top of the risotto with the additional 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.
*Cooks Note: Sometimes when I am cooking this dish, I have to add more chicken broth to the risotto because it tastes hard. The ideal is to have the risotto cooked where it is not too mushy and not too hard. If you do not have any more chicken broth, you can also add water. However, if you choose to use water than you will want to add some additional salt. I recommend using chicken broth if you can because water will dilute the flavor.