Heat oil or butter in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add mushrooms with a pinch of salt (I prefer kosher salt here.) A small pinch goes a long way here, so do not over-salt.
Cook your mushrooms until deeply browned. You will first notice mushrooms release their liquid, then the liquid will gradually evaporate and the browning will begin. At that point, when your mushrooms start to brown, reduce the heat to medium. Stir your mushrooms periodically, however, after the liquid has evaporated, allow your mushrooms to brown, but do not burn, before stirring again.This browning is crucial for the flavour to develop, so don’t skip this step.
You can set a few attractive browned mushrooms aside for garnish similar to how I did in this photo.
Once your mushrooms are browned, add diced onions and cook on medium heat until translucent and soft, not browned. Add rice and cook for a minute or two until fragrant (this will toast the rice and make it smell so nutty.) Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
Add the wine and cook for a minute or so until it's mostly evaporated. Be sure to scrape up the bottom of the pot to dissolve all those flavourful bits! You can skip the wine, if desired.
Add 3 cups of chicken (or vegetable) stock. Turn the heat to high and bring this to a boil, stirring occasionally. When it boils, cover, reduce to low and allow to simmer for 40-50 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and rice is very tender.
When your rice is ready, remove from heat, stir in butter, Parmesan, soy sauce and 1/2 cup chicken stock (or vegetable stock.) Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes (no less!!!) You will notice that the rice will get very creamy and "Risotto-like." You will most likely need to add the remaining 1/2 cup stock (it truly will depend on the exact rice brand you have) - just keep adding a bit of stock to get very creamy and saucy consistency. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
Note:
1. Risotto should be quite fluid, and it's exceptionally easy to achieve with this recipe. Just keep adding more stock a bit at a time and stirring until you get creamy, thick, saucy but NOT soupy risotto. When you plate your risotto, it should not stay in a lump, it should spread quite a bit in your bowl, so be sure to achieve that saucy consistency.
2. Stirring the rice for at least 2 minutes is an important step scientifically. We are rubbing and stirring the starch. The more it's rubbed, the creamier your risotto gets. It's that starch that makes the risotto thick yet creamy, soft and saucy. Traditional risotto is prepared with a lot of stirring, this recipe skips most of the stirring, but do not skip the 2 minutes in this step.
Divide the rice between 4 bowls, top with mushrooms you set aside is step one and any other garnishes of choice. Serve!
I garnished my risotto with Crisp Sage. Here's how you can make that:
Heat a bit of oil in a frying pan (ideally cast iron) over medium heat until very hot. Add sage leaves, ensure they are well coated with oil and cook for a minute or two until they are deep dark green in colour and crisp. Remove to a paper towel.
Ingredients
Directions
Heat oil or butter in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add mushrooms with a pinch of salt (I prefer kosher salt here.) A small pinch goes a long way here, so do not over-salt.
Cook your mushrooms until deeply browned. You will first notice mushrooms release their liquid, then the liquid will gradually evaporate and the browning will begin. At that point, when your mushrooms start to brown, reduce the heat to medium. Stir your mushrooms periodically, however, after the liquid has evaporated, allow your mushrooms to brown, but do not burn, before stirring again.This browning is crucial for the flavour to develop, so don’t skip this step.
You can set a few attractive browned mushrooms aside for garnish similar to how I did in this photo.
Once your mushrooms are browned, add diced onions and cook on medium heat until translucent and soft, not browned. Add rice and cook for a minute or two until fragrant (this will toast the rice and make it smell so nutty.) Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
Add the wine and cook for a minute or so until it's mostly evaporated. Be sure to scrape up the bottom of the pot to dissolve all those flavourful bits! You can skip the wine, if desired.
Add 3 cups of chicken (or vegetable) stock. Turn the heat to high and bring this to a boil, stirring occasionally. When it boils, cover, reduce to low and allow to simmer for 40-50 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and rice is very tender.
When your rice is ready, remove from heat, stir in butter, Parmesan, soy sauce and 1/2 cup chicken stock (or vegetable stock.) Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes (no less!!!) You will notice that the rice will get very creamy and "Risotto-like." You will most likely need to add the remaining 1/2 cup stock (it truly will depend on the exact rice brand you have) - just keep adding a bit of stock to get very creamy and saucy consistency. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
Note:
1. Risotto should be quite fluid, and it's exceptionally easy to achieve with this recipe. Just keep adding more stock a bit at a time and stirring until you get creamy, thick, saucy but NOT soupy risotto. When you plate your risotto, it should not stay in a lump, it should spread quite a bit in your bowl, so be sure to achieve that saucy consistency.
2. Stirring the rice for at least 2 minutes is an important step scientifically. We are rubbing and stirring the starch. The more it's rubbed, the creamier your risotto gets. It's that starch that makes the risotto thick yet creamy, soft and saucy. Traditional risotto is prepared with a lot of stirring, this recipe skips most of the stirring, but do not skip the 2 minutes in this step.
Divide the rice between 4 bowls, top with mushrooms you set aside is step one and any other garnishes of choice. Serve!
I garnished my risotto with Crisp Sage. Here's how you can make that:
Heat a bit of oil in a frying pan (ideally cast iron) over medium heat until very hot. Add sage leaves, ensure they are well coated with oil and cook for a minute or two until they are deep dark green in colour and crisp. Remove to a paper towel.
