I love risotto, I mean I really love risotto! Any time it’s on a menu you better believe I’m ordering it. I always had this perception that it was a very gourmet thing and would be difficult to make at home. I was wrong. Creamy Mushroom Risotto is super easy to make from scratch and even though it’s a bit time consuming it always results in a warm, creamy, delicious, comforting food that I absolutely love, and I think you will too.
Risotto can be made plain or with any vegetable you like. I chose mushrooms for this recipe because they make this dish really stand on its own. Rich and satisfying, mushrooms give a great meaty texture making this a great main dish as well as a complimentary side dish to any meal. If mushrooms aren’t your thing, try these veggies as alternatives: asparagus, any roasted root vegetable like sweet potato or carrots, roasted butternut squash, roasted peppers, you could even throw in some frozen peas or fresh tomatoes at the end, the options are really endless.
Prepare the Ingredients
As with most recipes, it’s a good idea to prepare your ingredients before you get started, Creamy Mushroom Risotto is no exception. If you’re using fresh herbs, strip the leaves from the stems by holding the top end and running the fingers of your other hand down the stem, toward the root end. Divide the rosemary leaves by half, half will be used on the mushrooms and half in the rice. Set the herbs aside.
Measure out all the other ingredients so they are ready as you need them. Chop the onion and mince the garlic. In a medium saucepan, heat the broth over medium-low heat. Pre-heating the broth is an important step. Because you will be adding the liquid in intervals and cold liquid would slow down the cooking with each addition making this process even longer. Using hot liquid prevents this by keeping the whole dish hot.
Clean and Prepare the Mushrooms
Place an oven rack in the top position. This helps with browning the mushrooms. Preheat the oven to 400°.
There is some debate out there about the best way to clean mushrooms and many gadgets that supposedly make this process “easier”, but let’s not get too fussy about this. Basically, you want to get any dirt and debris off the mushroom’s surface. How you choose to do that is completely up to you. In my experience, you don’t need a gadget to do this.
A great method is to put the mushrooms in a colander, run cool water over them and gently rub off any dirt. Then put them on a clean towel or paper towel and pat them dry. Don’t let them soak in water for long and use them right away so you don’t have any trouble with water-logged mushrooms. Patting them dry will give them a better chance of browning, crispy edges equal flavor.
If the base of the stems are very dirty or gnarly they can be trimmed. Once you have clean mushrooms, cut them into quarters. If your mushrooms are particularly large cut them into ½ inch chunks. In a large bowl, toss the mushrooms with a generous drizzle of olive oil, about 2-3 tsp, salt and pepper, and the rosemary leaves you reserved earlier.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread the mushrooms in a single layer, this will help with browning and keep them from steaming. Place the pan on the top rack of the oven and cook the mushrooms for 15-20 minutes stirring them halfway through. They will be done when they have softened and lightly browned. Adjust your cooking time if your oven tends to cook things quickly or slowly. Once they’re cooked, set them aside.
About the Rice
Arborio is a type of rice, not a brand, and is the perfect rice for risotto. Arborio is a short grain rice with a high starch content that is lovely and plump when cooked. Arborio’s high starch content creates the creaminess in Creamy Mushroom Risotto. It is possible to create something like risotto using a different type of rice, I’ve done it and it was fine, but nothing quite compares to the texture and creaminess you get from Arborio.
Get Cooking
Cooking risotto is a bit different than boiling or steaming rice. You start the process by frying the dry rice grains in fat and then adding liquid slowly while stirring. Adding the liquid slowly while agitating the rice aids in releasing the starch to make it creamy. That’s right the creaminess comes from the grain not the addition of dairy, but you will add dairy, we’ll talk about that later. So, you could enjoy this fantastic creamy dish and skip the dairy if you want.
In a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat melt 2 TBLS butter and a small drizzle of olive oil (or even better, a little bacon grease). Once the butter has stopped foaming, add the rice. Foamy butter? Yeah, I know, that’s weird right?! Actually, it’s all good. This is any water in the butter that’s boiling out while heating.
Stir the rice into the butter to coat each grain. The goal here is to gently toast the rice grains giving them richer flavor. Smooth the rice over the bottom of the pan with the back of a large spoon or spatula, wait few seconds, stir and smooth it again. Repeat this process until the rice is opaque and slightly golden. Be sure to stir often or the rice will burn and that’s no good.
Flavor Enhancements
Once you’ve reached the opaque and slightly golden stage it’s time for onions. You can use any kind of onion you like. I tend to use yellow onions, mostly because they tend to be cheaper at my grocery, but any onion will do. I encourage you to explore and experiment with different varieties. If I have them on hand, I will sometimes add leeks or even scallions.
Mincing the onions for risotto causes them to basically disappear until there are no noticeable onion chunks, which I prefer. If you like chunky onions leave em big, babe! Add those onions to the rice and stir them around for a couple minutes until they soften. Next add the minced garlic and stir for 1 more minute.
Give me all the herbs! I love herbs and grow a lot of them in my garden. Herbs have a way of elevating the flavor of a dish to the next level. Such a simple thing that has a huge impact. In this recipe thyme and rosemary are both amazing compliments to mushrooms. Toss the leaves you saved earlier into the rice while you’re sauteing the onions.
Making Risotto
Okay, here’s the big moment. It’s time to start adding the broth. I hope you wore your comfy slippers; you’ll be here for a little while. There are a few schools of thought about how to speed up this process but, honestly the best results that I’ve had come from being patient and embracing the process.
Here we go… Start by scooping 3 ladles of broth into the rice. Stir continuously and jiggle the pan, scrapping the edges until the liquid is mostly absorbed. The rice will still look moist but not watery. Agitating the rice is important for creaminess, stir and jiggle the pan often. Continue adding the broth one ladle at a time stirring frequently until the rice reaches your desired level of doneness. This process will take about 20-30 minutes.
How Done is Done?
I’ve had risotto at all different levels of doneness from very smooshy almost porridge-like to very al dente bordering on crunchy. I tend to prefer it just a smidge past al dente. I don’t really like it crunchy, but I want it to have some toothsomeness. Once the rice looks pretty plump and you’re running low on broth (you might not use it all) do some taste tests. Once you’ve achieved your preferred texture stop adding broth and turn the heat way down.
Stir in those mushrooms! At this point you could finish the dish with lemon juice and parsley. If you are avoiding dairy this is an excellent stopping point. If you want to guild the lily a little more continue reading.
Optional Additions
What about dairy? I told you we’d talk about it. Well ultimately dairy is completely optional for risotto because it’s already creamy on its own. There are probably some purists that believe adding dairy is a crime. I get that, it’s not completely necessary. I find adding some elements of dairy brings this dish to comfort food status giving it a velvety texture and making it so satisfying.
Stirring in a ¼ cup of sour cream will give a little hit of tanginess which cuts through the richness and balances the dish. An addition of lemon juice also lends some acidity which brightens the flavor.
Finishing the Dish
Freshly grate that parm! If you absolutely have to you can use pre-grated. But honey, you just spent 30 minutes of your day scooping and stirring, to use the cheapo parm now would be an afront to risottos everywhere! Splurge a little and get real parmesan in a block and grate it yourself. Sprinkle in ¼ cup and stir. Save some for a garnish because who doesn’t like a little extra cheese.
Do a quick taste test and add salt and pepper if needed. If you haven’t already, add in a generous squeeze of lemon juice, up to 1 TBL. Stir in chopped parsley for a fresh green splash of flavor and color.
Serve it up hot! If you let risotto sit around to long it will continue to soften and get thicker and more porridgy. If it does thicken up on you too much stir in a tiny bit more broth to loosen it up. This is a great tip for eating the leftovers. when you reheat the risotto stir in a little broth to bring it back to life.
And there you have it! Beautiful, creamy, rich and satisfying Mushroom Risotto. This recipe makes a great main course but also pair perfectly with grilled steak, chicken or fish. Enjoy!
Creamy Mushroom Risotto
Equipment
- Cookie Sheet
- Mixing Bowl
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Large Saucepan
- Large skillet
- Knife
- Laddle
- Rubber Spatula or Wooden Spoon
Ingredients
- 1 package Mushrooms White button or cremini. Cleaned, dried, and quartered.
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 1 1/2 cups Arborio Rice
- 1/3 cup Minced Onion
- 2 Cloves Garlic Minced
- 5-6 cups Chicken Broth or Vegetable Broth
- 1 sprig Fresh Thyme or 1/4 tsp dried
- 1 small sprig Fresh Rosemary about 2 inches long. OR 1 pinch dried rosemary.
- 1/4 cup Sour Cream
- 1/4 cup Parmesan Freshly grated or pre-grated.
- 2 tbsp Fresh Chopped Parsley (optional)
- 2-3 tsp Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper
- 1 Tbl Lemon Juice - Fresh if possible
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° place a rack on the top setting.
- Pour broth into a medium saucepan and place over medium low heat.
- Strip leaves from rosemary and thyme, set aside.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Chop the mushrooms. Combine them in a bowl with 1-2 tsp olive oil, 1/2 the rosemary leaves, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss and spread into a single layer on the prepared cookie pan. Place the pan on top rack, 4-5 inches from the top of the oven. Roast for 15 - 20 minutes or until lightly browned and tender, stirring halfway through. Once done, remove pan from oven and set aside.
- While mushrooms roast - melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until bubbling subsides. Add the rice. Cook stirring until rice is opaque and lightly golden.
- Add the rosemary, thyme, and onions to the rice and sauté until slightly softened, 3-5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute more.
- Using a ladle add 3 ladles full of broth to the rice. Simmer over medium low-medium heat, stirring until the liquid is almost completely absorbed. Continue adding broth 1 ladle at a time stirring and agitating the pan, allowing broth to be absorbed between each addition. Continue until rice has reached desired doneness, al dente will still have a slight underdone center. You may not need to use all the broth.
- Once the rice has reached desired doneness, add the mushrooms, sour cream (optional), lemon juice, parmesan, and parsley, and stir until well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Can use veggie or beef broth for a lighter or richer flavor.
- Splash with a squeeze of lemon juice before serving.
