I’ve enjoyed cooking risotto from the first time I ever did it. I’m not sure if it’s because I get to the finish rest of a bottle of white wine or because risotto is delicious and easy to make. It’s certainly not original, but my favorite is mushroom and asparagus risotto (which also does fantastically with seared bay scallops added along with the mushrooms at the end). Now if you’re like me, maybe you went into the store looking for a bottle of cheap dry white wine, but instead you found a gem at the liquor store for $16 instead of $8. Then maybe you use a little less white wine because you want to drink it. Maybe….

For a real lesson in risotto making, check out jwheels’ great post.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup Arborio rice
  • 2.5 cups chicken stock
  • 8 oz asparagus
  • 6 oz shitake mushrooms, stems removed, washed and dried
  • ½ Spanish onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • ½ cup (fresh) grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1.5 tbsp olive oil
  • ½ cup dry white wine
  • Rosemary (optional)
  • Salt (~ 1 tsp)

Heat 1.5 tsp olive oil over medium heat. Add half the onion and garlic and sauté until softening. Add the mushrooms (sliced) and sauté until softened and fragrant. Remove from pan and set aside. Meanwhile, add the stock to a pan and heat so it is close to boiling. I added the rosemary and the mushroom stems (washed) to the stockpot to get a little extra flavor into the stock while it warmed. After removing the mushrooms, add the remaining onion and garlic to the pan (with a little more olive oil if necessary) and sauté over medium heat until softened and fragrant. Then add the rice and cook (while stirring) until translucent (about five minutes). Cooking the rice is an important step because it prevents the starchy grains from sticking together as they absorb liquid. Once the rice is sufficiently sautéed, you can start adding the warm stock, about ½ cup at a time. Stir the stock into the rice, then cover, stirring every couple minutes. Whenever the amount of stock has absorbed, add more stock and continue to cook until the rice is soft, but still firm. When you’re about ten minutes from being done with rice, start to steam the asparagus. Because I’m lazy and didn’t want to wash another pot, and I thought it might get a little more asparagus flavor into the stock, I actually steamed my asparagus in the pot I had been using to warm the stock (standing it upright in about 1/2 “ of stock). Cook the asparagus to al dante, then cut into 1” pieces and add to the risotto for the last couple minutes of cooking. When the rice is done, add the reserved mushrooms, garlic, and onions, along with the Parmesan cheese. Stir until everything is incorporated, salt to taste and serve immediately.

Servings: Two generous dinner servings, plus 4 glasses of wine

Cost: $30 (with $16 bottle of wine)