Let's talk about risotto. It's an Italian dish of creamy rice prepared in a specific way. A way that involves adding liquid in tiny increments and stirring constantly. In order for it to be considered risotto and not just another rice dish it has to be made following certain basic 'rules.' That means using the proper ingredients and not trying to hurry things along by dumping in all the liquid at once.
Let's gather our ingredients:
2 cans of vegetable broth 1.5 cups of Arborio rice
White wine Salt and Pepper to taste
1.5 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano 2 cups, chopped crimini mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, minced 4 tablespoons butter
Patience
In small pot, heat the vegetable stock and keep it hot until it's needed. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, saute the mushrooms and garlic in the butter. You want the mushrooms to take on a bit of color but you don't want to overcook them.
Add the rice to the butter and mushrooms. Stir a bit to coat each grain with a film of butter.
Add a glug of white wine to the mixture. Then add a second. I know 'glug' isn't very descriptive but do you know how when you pour a bit out and the bottle makes a sound like 'glug' and then you lift it upright? That's what I'm talking about. Cook until the wine is absorbed.
Increase the heat to medium high and pour in a bit of the hot vegetable stock. Stir the rice constantly as the stock is absorbed. When the rice mixture is starting to look 'dry,' add a little more hot stock and keep stirring.
Repeat, repeat, repeat until all of the hot stock is gone. This is what it looks like about half way through. You can see the grains plumping up. Occasionally taste the mixture and salt and pepper it as needed. I caution you not to overdo either, especially the salt and the cheese will add a little of a salty taste as well.
Now that you've been doing all that stirring you have to be VERY CAREFUL not to overcook the rice. You want it to be tender, but still have a bite to it. No one wants to eat mush. Keep it al dente. Remove from heat.
Stir in all that lovely Parmigiano-Reggiano. Please, please, please don't use the stuff in the green can. If you went through all the work--about 30 minutes from chopping to sauteing to stirring--do you really want to ruin it now?
Serve immediately.
Notice the creamy texture of the Mushroom Risotto. (And the random flecks of fresh ground pepper that don't look like pepper because of their very randomness--I have a light hand with the pepper) It's creamy but the grains are still separate and there isn't any liquid pooling up on the edges.
If you have any left, I'll show you what to do with it in the next few days.
Mushroom Risotto
by Michelle
2 cans of vegetable broth 1.5 cups of Arborio rice
White wine Salt and Pepper to taste
1.5 cups Parmigiano-Reggiano 2 cups, chopped crimini mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, minced 4 tablespoons butter
Patience
In small pot, heat the vegetable stock and keep it hot until it's needed. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, saute the mushrooms and garlic in the butter. You want the mushrooms to take on a bit of color but you don't want to overcook them.
Add the rice to the butter and mushrooms. Stir a bit to coat each grain with a film of butter.
Add a glug of white wine to the mixture. Then add a second. I know 'glug' isn't very descriptive but do you know how when you pour a bit out and the bottle makes a sound like 'glug' and then you lift it upright? That's what I'm talking about. Cook until the wine is absorbed.
Increase the heat to medium high and pour in a bit of the hot vegetable stock. Stir the rice constantly as the stock is absorbed. When the rice mixture is starting to look 'dry,' add a little more hot stock and keep stirring.
Repeat, repeat, repeat until all of the hot stock is gone. Occasionally taste the mixture and salt and pepper it as needed. I caution you not to overdo either, especially the salt and the cheese will add a little of a salty taste as well.
Now that you've been doing all that stirring you have to be VERY CAREFUL not to overcook the rice. You want it to be tender, but still have a bite to it. No one wants to eat mush. Keep it al dente. Remove from heat. Serve immediately.
