My Love for Risotto

 Risotto is a dish that kinda screams comfort food to me and is perhaps one of my favorite meals to make. 

Savory and full of flavor risotto is a dish that I never get sick of.  Simple enough to make on a week night but still one of those dishes that is worthy of a special occasion dinner (Such as Valentine's Day).

What I think is so great about risotto is the endless flavor options you have.  You can virtually add any meat or vegetable you like into risotto and 9 times out of 10 I am sure it will be delicious! I know that without a doubt any time a suggest risotto for dinner Derek is on board (my shrimp risotto is one of the dishes requested most often by him), so I knew the night I told him I was going to experiment with a brown rice mushroom risotto he would be game. 

The original recipe comes from Cooking Light and can be found here.  I made a few adaptations to cater to the ingredients I had!  Check it out! 

Mushroom Risotto

Slightly adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients:

1 cup short-grain brown rice

2 cups hot chicken broth

1 Cup hot Water

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 pound mushrooms, sliced 

1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided 

1/2 cup chopped shallots

1/2 cup white wine 

1/2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions

1- Bring a pot of water to boil.  Add rice and simmer for 15 min (rice will not be done).  Drain and set aside.

2- Heat your chicken stock in a sauce pan on the stove and set aside for later.  In a microwave safe bowl heat your 1 cup water and reserve for later.

3- Heat one tablespoon of oil in sauce pan.  Add your mushrooms and saute for 8 minutes or until lightly browned.  Remove mushrooms from sauce pan and set aside. 

4- Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to your sauce pan.  Add shallots and saute until tender. 

5-Add rice and cook for about 2 min.  Add a little pepper.  

6- Now stir in your wine and cook until evaporated.  

7- Now add 1/2 cup chicken broth  to rice mixture.  Cook until absorbed.  Stir in remaining chicken broth followed by your hot water 1/2 cup at a time.  You will need to stir constantly - this process will take about 30 minutes.  

 8- Now stir in your mushrooms and parmigiano cheese and serve! 

** I Served our risotto along side baked breaded chicken.  The meal was delicious! 

Enjoy!