Rebekah's Mushroom Risotto

Rebekah’s Mushroom Risotto

Serves 2-4 (main course or side)

1 small onion or a few shallots

1-2 clove(s) garlic

2 cups Arborio rice (risotto rice)

1 package mushrooms (preferably something other than button – or button mixed with others)

1 cup white wine (don’t be stingy!)

Broth (Porcini preferable, but chicken or vegetable work as well)

A few handfuls of spinach (baby spinach or cut up regular spinach – bite sized)

1-2 cups shredded Parmigianino cheese (go for the Italian stuff – it’s more expensive, but worth the flavor)

2 pats butter

Fresh coarse black pepper

In one smaller saucepan add broth (a couple cans of broth or 1.5 cubes of bullion) and put on the heat to simmer. Keep this at a simmer throughout the entire process.

Chop up onion/shallots and mince/chop garlic. Heat a heavy bottomed (sturdy) saucepan (or large shallow frying pan with high sides) and add some olive oil. Immediately add onions/shallots, garlic, mushrooms and sauté a bit (1-2 minutes). Then add the Arborio rice and constantly stir to toast the rice.

Once rice is toasted, add in the wine, constantly stirring. Once the wine is absorbed (and yum it smells good!), add in one ladleful of the broth. Continue to do this until the rice is just about the texture you want (soft but not mushy – some people like it to have a slight snap to it still). Right after adding your 2nd to last ladle-full of broth (or right after is also fine), add in the spinach and stir it in. The heat will wilt the spinach, cooking it very quickly. After you’ve added in all the broth you’re going to use, add in the Parmigianino cheese. Stir completely. The Risotto should be very creamy at this point. Now stir in the butter. This will make the consistency perfectly creamy and delicious. You can certainly leave out the butter, if you prefer.

Serve in bowls, immediately, with a bit of fresh ground coarse pepper.

Alternatives:

If you have someone who doesn’t like mushrooms, another alternative is to make it without the mushrooms, have more spinach and add the spinach along with some fresh basil near the end. This makes a lovely risotto.

You can also use asparagus in place of the mushrooms and then you can add or not add the spinach. I have also made mushroom and asparagus risotto, adding them at the same time to sauté them a bit before adding in the wine or broth, but allowing them to be in the risotto the entire time, so as to nicely flavor the dish.