The biggest pain in the ass here is finding the damn rice. Took me forever because it turns out this rice is “fancy” and not sold with a regular rice of the common people. But it ends up tasting really good, so if you don’t mind being a class traitor, it’s totally worth it.
The second biggest pain the in ass is that you have the stir the shit out of it while you’re cooking. Again, it tastes great when you’re done, but it’s a bit of a workout.
Ingredients
6 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups arborio rice (this is what makes it risotto instead of just rice)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 shallots, diced
1 small onion, diced
6 cloves of garlic, shelled and minced
1 pound portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 pound white mushrooms, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Directions
In a large pan, put in 2 tablespoons of the oil with the mushrooms, and saute until fully cooked. The mushrooms should give off quite a bit of liquid while they’re cooking. Once they’re fully cooked, pour the contents of the pan in to a large mixing bowl and set aside.
Now for the risotto. Add the remaining oil, as well as the onions, garlic, and shallots to the pan you were just using. Saute on medium heat for a few minutes until the onions and shallots start to soften.
Add the rice to the pan and stir for a few minutes until it has taken on a very pale gold color.
A moment of editorializing: When I say very pale, I mean it. Some of the recipes you find online will tell you it should be golden brown, which if you’re like me, you think means something like the color of bread. It does not mean that, and it will never happen. The people who tell you that are fucking idiots.
K. So, it should only take 2-3 minutes, at most five, before the browning is done. Add the wine and keep stirring until the wine is absorbed.
Now for the work. Warm about a cup of the chicken broth (I just used the microwave) and add it to the rice. Keep stirring until the broth is mostly absorbed.
Repeat with about a cup of warm broth at a time, stirring constantly until it’s absorbed, until the rice is done. Once the fifth cup of broth is absorbed, taste the rice to see if it’s done (it may or may not be, depending on a lot of things…how hot you’re cooking it, how dry the rice was to start with…etc.). Anyway, keep adding a cup of broth and stirring until the rice is done. The overall process will take 20-30 minutes.
Once the rice is done, add it to the bowl with the mushrooms, and add the butter and parmesan cheese and stir everything together until the butter is melted and mixed in.
So, that’s it, it’s a lot of work, but mostly worth it.
eatbensmeat 