mushroom risotto

My first food post!

This is what I made last night for my parents (my mom has cancer, so I make dinner over there occasionally - it's always an experiment since my cooking skills are fairly lacking), it fed four of us and there was some left over.

You need: butter (or your favorite substitute), olive oil, an onion, arborio rice (one cup), fresh mushrooms (I used two whole packages, one white mushrooms and one baby bella mushrooms), some sort of broth (several cups, at least four), seasonings to taste

Saute your choice amount of white onion in combination olive oil/butter. I used 3/4ths of a large onion, and 1/2 a stick of Smart Balance and a tablespoon olive oil. I let it cook for a few minutes, until it was all soft and translucent.

Before I started the onion, I heated several cups of water in the microwave and added two veggie bouillon cubes, two bay leaves, and four dried Shiitake mushrooms. Microwaved it another few minutes and then let it sit to steep. (The broth has to be hot when you add it to the rice.)

In a separate pan, melt a little butter or warm some olive oil with about a clove of chopped garlic. Add the mushrooms and let them cook down while you make the rice. It took me about half the time the rice did, so I just turned off the burner when the mushrooms were done.

When the onion is done, add a cup of the rice and cook (keep stirring) for about 3-4 minutes. Then a splash of white wine (optional), just enough that you can smell it, and then start adding your broth at the rate of about a half-cup to a cup at a time (keep stirring, don't stop yet). I just poured some in, let it cook in, and then added more. You want it to be almost entirely absorbed before you add the next cup, but it won't look like regular cooked rice. The constant stirring releases some of the starch so it gets creamy.

Keep adding broth and stirring it in until the rice is cooked. It will take, at the very least, twenty minutes. Both times I've made risotto, it's taken a lot more than twenty minutes. During this time, I added salt, pepper, a dash of chili powder, and some dried basil.

When the rice is cooked through and almost all the liquid has been absorbed, stir in the mushrooms and you're done!

I grated some parmesan on mine and also sprinkled just a little bit of crumbled goat cheese. My dad and I ate ours with some baby spinach that I wilted down with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. It cut the richness of the risotto just a bit.

Traditionally, butter and/or some cream are stirred in at the end, but this was certainly rich and creamy enough for me. Next time, I want to try using saffron.