I wanted to do something really nice for Brian, since he treated me to Cin Cin’s for Valentines Day, so I figured attempting to make his favourite dish (with a “side” of steak 😉 ) might fit the bill.
I bought some fresh mushrooms and also some dried mushrooms, also some Arborio rice (for the risotto) and this small bottle of Olive Oil with Black Truffle. I wish I could covet truffle oil in gallons, but I’d be a very poor food blogger by the end of that endeavour.
There is this general misconception that risotto is difficult to make – let me tell you, if you’ve made congee, you can make risotto. Heck, if you can stand for like maybe 10 minutes in one place, you can make risotto. However, if you’re used to making congee, it’ll help you know when the risotto is ready.
I adapted this recipe from AllRecipes.com, make sure to check out the original there.
Ingredients:
6 cups chicken broth, divided
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided – I substituted Truffle Oil
1 pound of portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 pound white mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 shallots, diced – I substituted white cooking onions for the shallots
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine (I didn’t use any)
sea salt to taste
fresh ground black pepper
3 tablespoons finely chopped chives
4 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
1. In a saucepan, warm broth over low heat.
2. Warm 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Stir in the mushrooms and cook until soft, 3 minutes. Remove mushrooms and liquid and set aside.
3. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to skillet and cook shallots/onions. Cook 1 minute. Add rice, stirring to coat with oil, about 2 minutes.
4. I had to add more oil, there wasn’t enough for my recipe. When the rice hast aken a pale, golden colour, add 1/2 cup broth to the rice and stir until broth is absorbed.
5. Continuing adding broth 1/ cup at a time stirring continuously until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente – 15 -20 minutes.
4. Remove from heat, stir in mushrooms with liquid, butter, chives, parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with protein, in this case, I pan seared a steak and cooked it in the oven for a little bit. Definitely a lot easier than I imagined it to be, try it out!
