Roasted Mushroom Risotto
It rained all last week. All. Week. Long… it rained. It’s bad enough that we can’t see each other except over social media and webex or zoom, but then to be stuck inside because of the rain… it’s practically torture. Who am I kidding? It is torture.
Is anyone else out there dying for social contact? Dying to see their friends in person rather than on screen? I’m telling you, I have days where all I want to do is curl up in bed and watch TV all day long. It’s on those days that I need something comforting to eat. It’s usually chocolate or ice cream, but chocolate and ice cream can’t replace dinner. A good dinner could be followed up by chocolate or ice cream but you really should have something more substantial for the main course. Don’t crawl back under those covers. Even a main course can be comforting.
When I think of substantial, I think of baked pasta or chili and corn bread or a rich risotto. My favorite is definitely risotto. I make risotto all the time time because it’s so rich, so filling and so damn versatile. I’ve made a veggie version, I’ve made it with lemon and shrimp, I’ve made it with quinoa and I’ve even made it with red wine. Every time I’ve made risotto, I’ve done something different and every time it’s made me so happy. I love the creamy texture, the rich cheeses and of course the butter.
Let’s face it, everything is better with butter. I don’t care if it’s garlic bread, chocolate chip cookies or pancakes. Butter makes them better. It may be fattening, but in this day and age I really don’t care how fattening anything is anymore. And the same can be said about risotto. A beautiful pot of risotto just isn’t finished if it doesn’t have at least two or three tablespoons of butter in it. That butter is what makes the risotto so luscious and so comforting.
This risotto is no different. It’s just as rich and flavorful as the others. What makes this risotto different is the roasted mushroom and mushroom broth. That’s right I said mushroom broth. See, not only did I roast the mushrooms before mixing them in, I soaked dried mushrooms in the vegetable broth to really kick that mushroom flavor over the top. If you like mushrooms, this risotto is for you! Thanks to both the roasted mushrooms and the mushroom broth, this risotto is full of umami flavors that just can’t be beat. It may be my most favorite risotto so far. It wasn’t just rich and comforting, those wild mushroom flavors took me to a really happy place. A place I haven’t seen in awhile except through computer screens and rain-drenched windows. A happy place I can’t wait to get to again. I just hope it’s by physical adventure and not food. But if it has to be food, it’ll definitely be by this risotto.
Notes
Adapted from Food & Wine Magazine
Ingredients
- 1 pound mixed wild mushrooms, like oyster, chanterelle or shiitake, sliced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup dried mushrooms
- 5 cups vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, divided
- 2 shallots, minced
- 1-1/2 cups arborio rice
- 3/4 cup dry white wine, like a chardonnay
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a rimmed baking sheet with tin foil.
- Toss the mushrooms with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread the mushrooms in an even layer on the prepared sheet pan, and roast until golden and crisp, about 15 minutes, tossing halfway through.
- While the mushrooms roast, toss the dried mushrooms in a large pot. Add the vegetable broth to the pot and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Keep warm.
- Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the pan over medium heat. Add the rice and cook until translucent around the edges, about 1 minute. Stir in the wine and cook until absorbed. Ladle 1 cup of broth over the rice and cook, stirring constantly, until most of the broth has been absorbed.
- Add half of the roasted mushrooms to the risotto and continue cooking, adding more broth as needed, a cup at a time until the rice is tender, about 25 minutes. (You may not need all of the broth.)
- Stir in the remaining butter and Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, topped with the remaining roasted mushrooms and more Parmesan.
