Our Favorite Sous Chef? He’s a Fungi.
It is a culinary truth that mushrooms make everything better. Whether dehydrated, freshly-foraged, or simply plucked from the produce department, wild mushrooms add an essential depth of umami richness to any recipe. One of our favorite ways to use them? This comforting, hearty mushroom risotto recipe.
A while back back Natalie and Holly gathered with some of their dear fellow blogger friends for an unforgettable weekend in the stunning Columbia River Gorge. Inspired by the gorgeous grains made by Lundberg Family Farms, they each created a recipe designed to showcase their versatility and flavor. Throughout the summer our friend’s released their recipes one by one, and now that it’s finally our turn to share this wild mushroom risotto.
Present at the lunch there was an absolutely scrumptious black pearl rice stir fry with miso, mushrooms, and crispy tofu made by Eva of Adventures In Cooking, a flavor packed tomato and stone fruit crostini with creamy feta using Lundberg thin stackers was created by Shelly of Vegetarian Ventures, and Trisha of Eat Your Beets rounded out the meal with a bright and creamy vanilla red rice pudding with brown rice syrup and strawberry rhubarb compote. What we really want to talk about though, is the risotto.
What is Risotto?
And—relatedly—what is risotto rice? Traditional risotto is made with the Italian short-grained Arborio rice, which is named for its namesake town in Italy, but also grown all across the U.S. Arborio rice has a higher starch content than other kinds of rice, giving it a toothsome, creamy texture when cooked. That creamy starchiness is a must when it comes to our mushroom risotto. Here’s a breakdown of the different types of rice that can produce a creamy risotto:
- Arborio rice is likely the most common type of risotto rice you’ll find stateside. It contains one of the highest levels of starches, which is what turns rice into a creamy bowl of risotto.
- Carnaroli rice is a fancy-pants chef rice. If anyone ever offers to bring you an edible souvenir from Italy, make it this. It’s almost impossible to find stateside.
- Vialone Nano rice is grown in the same Italian region from which Prosecco hails. Meaning the two really should be consumed together. Sadly, while Prosecco is easy to find, vialone nano is a little harder to track down here in the U.S.
Magic Mushrooms
The mushrooms used in this dish can be adjusted depending on what’s in season (we love using wild mushrooms if we can). Springtime in the Pacific Northwest means morel mushrooms, but come late summer and early fall we crave the sunny, meaty flavor of chanterelle mushrooms, which are abundant at that time of year. When it comes to selecting wild mushrooms, the fresher, the better. Add to the heady, earthy flavor of those ‘shrooms a little dry white wine, homemade mushroom stock, cream, butter, shallots, thyme, and of course, risotto rice (we love the Arborio rice from Lundberg Family Farm), and this risotto recipe becomes pure magic. Other mushrooms that also work great in this recipe are:
- Crimini
- Button
- Hen of the Woods
- Portobello
- Oyster
- Shiitake
How to Make Creamy, Dreamy Risotto
If you can stir a pot of soup you can make a creamy risotto. Here’s how to cook risotto:
- The best risotto recipe is really the most simple: use the best ingredients you can (high-quality Arborio rice like the one from Lundberg Family Farm, a good broth—homemade if you can, and a good aged Parmesan).
- Don’t rinse the rice—the rice’s outer coating is where most of the starch is, and it’s this rice starch that makes for a creamy risotto.
- The most involved part of making risotto is the constant stirring, but it’s really not as bad as it sounds (especially if your non-stirring hand is holding a glass of wine).
- Speaking of wine, for risotto wine, we recommend something tasty enough you’d want to drink it, but perhaps not that premiere class Chablis that you’re saving for your 20th wedding anniversary. Usually bottles in the $15 range are ideal for both cooking and sipping.
- And our final tip—lean into the stir. There’s no way around it, so you might as well enjoy it. Let the meditative motion take you away. Stir, stir, stirrrrr.
Tools You’ll Need to Make Our Basic Risotto Recipe
Okay, all the stirring aside, this easy mushroom risotto is perfect for a weeknight meal, either as a vegetarian entree or a complement to a meaty main. Here’s what you’ll need to stir up some creamy risotto perfection:
Going Meatless?
Hungry for some additional vegetarian recipes like our Italian risotto? We’ve got a few ideas.
- Our easy Vegetarian Chili Recipe gets a hearty twist thanks to one secret ingredient.
- Easy Italian that tastes like you worked on it all day? Our Crockpot Vegetable Lasagna.
- Meatless Monday meets Taco Tuesday with the invention of our Roasted Cauliflower Tacos.
Love Our Creamy Mushroom Risotto?
Think our cheese risotto is molto, molto bene? Show us your risotto-y goodness and tag us @themodernproper and #themodernproper.
This sponsored post is written by TMP on behalf of Lundberg Farms. The opinions and text are all ours. Thank you for supporting the brands we love.
