Easy Mushroom Risotto

I learned to make a proper risotto from my dear friend, Giulia when I lived in the Piemonte region of Italy. Risotto has always been one of my favorite dishes - any day of the year. I made this recipe for a family who is due to welcome a baby any day and they wanted homemade, delicious food, but without extra steps. This recipe delivers in flavor and uses a food processor to make quick work of the chopping. You will not miss hovering over a steaming pan of risotto, while getting all the same flavor, so you can focus on creating a gorgeous salad to accompany this dish.

Lastly, shallots are the way to get ‘restaurant flavor’ into homemade food. Shallots impart an onion and garlic flavor, and take whatever you’re cooking to a slightly better flavor profile. Of course an onion will work just the same if you don’t have on hand.

Serves: 2 (easily doubled in an extra large frying pan)

2 large shallots

1 pkg. button mushrooms

1 Tablespoon olive oil

3/4 cup Arborio rice

Optional: 1/2 cup (125ml) white wine or champagne

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 garlic clove

3 cups (750ml) chicken stock

1 pat butter

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Method:

1. In a food processor pulse the peeled shallots and mushrooms until finely chopped to your liking.

2. Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Heat the oil for 30 seconds, then add the chopped shallots, mushrooms and 3/4 cup risotto rice. Saute, stirring every minute or so to remove excess water and slightly toast the Arborio rice. *Optional, if adding wine or champagne do so now and cook, stirring until the wine is absorbed. Then proceed with the following steps.

3. Pour in all of the chicken broth, 1 teaspoon sea salt and 1 minced clove of garlic.

4. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low. Stir every 4 minutes to prevent sticking to the pan. The rice will be done when most of the liquid as absorbed and it’s slightly al dente. Taste it to see if it’s done to your liking.

5. Turn off the heat.

6. Stir in a pat of butter (traditional Piemontese way).

7. Then stir in the parmesan cheese.

8. Ladle into serving bowls and top with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Enjoy.