Monday, January 26, 2009

Mushroom Risotto

Very simple this time, I used this recipe with very few changes:

I used a 1 lb box of arborio rice plus 1 qt (4 cups) of mushroom stock
For the mushrooms I used two containers from Giant: one of sliced baby bellas, and the other a mix of crimini/oyster/shitake.

The mushroom stock didn't come in low sodium, so I just didn't add any more salt, but next time I'd stick with chicken stock. I just wanted to try out the mushroom stock, I've been eyeing it up at Wegman's for months.

All other portions I kept identical, including the 1/2 c dry white wine, so no need to reduce any other ingredients just because I used less rice. I also used 3 shallots, and I wish I had added a couple cloves of garlic.

I did follow the recipe's suggestion of removing the mushrooms once they were soft, and I'm glad I did: the rice was then in with just the shallots, so it had more chance to get creamy and thick. I actually removed the mushrooms to the same little saucepan as the stock, which I heated over the lowest flame possible so that it was just below simmering the entire time, but hot so that it didn't lower the temp of the rice every time I ladled more in. Then I just used a ladle to scoop broth (but no mushrooms if I could help it) into the rice gradually, one or two ladles at a time.

I did use less butter at the end, since I had less rice, and because it was already delicious and didn't need that much added richness (or fat!).

2 comments:

Jane said...

Oh, this sounds like my kind of meal. I will try it out on Hannah sometime soon.

PeaceLoveMath said...

Comments on the allrecipes site said it was even better leftover the next day, so I recommend using the whole pound of arborio in the box & whole quart of stock.

Another recommendation for leftovers was to make little patties and saute them, which I thought sounded delish too!