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This delicious Mushroom Risotto recipe and photo were shared with me by Karen Calanchini, Food
Stylist and Photographer, of Redding, CA. Karen says, "This risotto goes well with my
Lemony Buttermilk Baked Chicken. It also is great with grilled steaks and seafood."
Learn How To Make Risotto Ahead of Time - With this technique, that is used by restaurant chefs, you never have to stand at the stove,
stirring, for 20 minutes while your guests wonder where you have gone. You can make any kind of risotto you want using this method.
More delicious
Pasta, Rice, and Main Dish Recipes.
Mushroom Risotto with Fresh Thyme
Before making risotto, please read the web page on
Making Perfect Risotto. Lots of hints and tips to help you.
Recipe Type:
Risotto,
Rice,
Wine,
Leeks
Yields: 2 servings
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 22 min
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups chicken broth
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 large leeks (white and light green parts), cleaned
3 cloves
garlic, chopped
6 ounces mushrooms (combination of white mushroom and crimini mushrooms), sliced
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons
arborio rice
1/4 cup dry white
wine (I used dry Vermouth)
Coarse
salt or sea salt and
pepper to taste
1/4 cup freshly-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Preparation:
In a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high, combine chicken broth, thyme, and bay leaf. Bring just to a
boil, reduce heat to low, and keep warm over low heat.
In a large heavy saucepan over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add leeks and garlic; sauce until the leeks soften.
Add the mushrooms and cook until they soften.
Add arborio rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until the edges of the rice are translucent, approximately 4 minutes.
Add wine and cook, stirring constantly until wine has been
completely absorbed by the rice or evaporated. Remove the thyme and bay leaf from the stock and discard.
 Add
1/2 cup of hot chicken broth, stirring until almost absorbed. Continue cooking
and stirring, adding a little bit of hot chicken broth (1/2 cup at a time), until the chicken broth is absorbed and until the rice is tender
(but still firm to the bite), about 15 to 20 minutes.
NOTE: This risotto needs to be stirred continually until the broth is absorbed because leeks, which are drier
to cook with than onions, will stick to the bottom of the pan if you don't continually stir.
During the last minutes of cooking, salt and pepper to taste and add Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. At
this point the rice should have a creamy consistency (it should be tender, but firm to the bite. Remove from heat.
NOTE: To test the risotto for proper consistency, spoon a little into a bowl and shake it lightly from side to side.
The risotto should spread out very gently of its own accord. If the rice just stands still, it's too dry, so add a little more stock. If a puddle of liquid forms around the rice,
you've added too much stock. Spoon some liquid off, or just let the risotto sit for a few more seconds off the heat to absorb the excess stock.
Makes 2 servings.
Risotto Etiquette
In Italy, risotto is serve mounded,
steaming hot, in the center of warmed individual shallow bowls.
Among the myths associated with risotto, there is the one that you must eat it
piping hot, as it comes from the pot!
Unlike pasta, risotto tastes
better when it has rested on your plate a minute or so. When
Italians are served risotto, they often spread it on their plate
from the center toward the rim, to dissipate some of the steam.
Using a fork or a spoon, push the grains of cooked rice out slightly
toward the edge of the bowl, eating only from the pulled out ring of rice.
Continue spreading from the center and eating around the edges
in a circle. This will keep the risotto hot as you enjoy your
risotto.
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