This Mushroom Risotto is Easy Enough to Make at Home

Elena Davis is a true Italian cook with true Italian flair! Her website is one to bookmark come dinner time. You can check out all of her recipes at cucinabyelena.com.

A homemade mushroom risotto is a delicious dish for fall.

It’s a fancy-feeling meal typically served in high-end Italian restaurants, but you can make it in your own kitchen!

Elena Davis shares how to make risotto at home. This seasonal riff on risotto highlights a unique ingredient: mushrooms. This dish is known to require patience and attention, and most of the time we just wait to order it at the restaurant for the chef to handle the fuss. However, Elena says this dish is totally doable at home! She shares her top tips for accomplishing it.

Find more recipes from Elena on Instagram, @cucinabyelena, or on her website, www.cucinabyelena.com

Elena’s Risotto Tips:

• Elena likes to use Arborio rice in this recipe. If not Arborio, choose another short-grain rice variety like Carnaroli or Vialone Nano.
• It’s important to warm your broth before you add it to the risotto, Elena says. If you add in cold broth, it’ll affect the cooking process.
• Elena recommends adding the broth in slowly, to allow the rice to release its starches slowly, and achieve that perfect creamy consistency. She says it also helps to ensure even cooking and better flavor absorption.

Easy Creamy Mushroom Risotto Recipe

Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 4-6 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 6 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth or mushroom broth
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 pound portobello, cremini, or white mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 2 medium shallots, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 ½ cups Arborio rice
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon finely fresh rosemary
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
• ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)

METHOD

1. Heat the chicken broth over low heat in a saucepan and keep it warm. You don’t want it to boil.
2. Add two tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet or wide pan on medium-high heat. Sauté the diced shallots until they become translucent.
3. Add the sliced mushrooms and herbs. Sauté them until they release their moisture and become browned and cooked for about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the cooked mushroom mixture to a plate and cover.
4. In the same saucepan or deep skillet over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and Arborio rice and stir to coat the rice. Toast the rice for a minute until it becomes slightly translucent at the edges.
5. Pour in the dry white wine and cook, stirring constantly, until the rice mostly absorbs the wine.
6. Add the warm broth to the rice, one ladleful (about ¾ cup) at a time. Stir continuously with a wooden spoon and allow the liquid to be absorbed before adding more broth. Add broth and stir regularly until the rice is creamy and cooked al dente, which should take 25 minutes.
7. When the rice is nearly done, fold in the sautéed mushrooms (save a few mushrooms to garnish individual servings, if desired).
8. Once the rice is creamy and cooked to your liking, stir in the butter and freshly grated parmigiano cheese. Mix until the butter and cheese are melted, and the risotto is creamy and well combined. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Divide the creamy mushroom risotto among plates and garnish with a bit of chopped parsley and a sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese.