Moving our way up from this Easter Sunday's baked brie appetizer to the side dish (or second course if we're getting snazzy up in here). Recipe for a small, quarantined holiday number two: spring herb mushroom risotto!
I mean look at it. SO festive! It's creamy, delicious, and has all the spring greens. Plus, it even has basil pesto. Add a dollop of it once you've finish stir-beating the risotto and it smells absolutely heavenly.
Also, I've made up the term "stir-beating" but it's basically what you do to give a risotto that creaminess. Stir frequently while simultaneously smashing the bejesus out of it on the side of the pot. Otherwise you'll just end up with boiled rice! Careful though or you'll get risotto splatter all over the place (I definitely speak from experience here).
Stay tuned for this year's main course coming to you this Saturday 👍🏻. Hint: it goes wonderfully with this spring herb mushroom risotto (recipe below)!
Spring Herb Mushroom Risotto
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
Rich, creamy, mushroom risotto infused with fresh herbs, a dollop of basil pesto, and a smattering of green peas. A festive, decadent spring side dish!
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 ½ cups Arborio rice
- 7-8 cups vegetable (or chicken) broth
- 1 small shallot, minced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ½ cup dry white wine
- ½ cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon fresh basil, roughly minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh sage, roughly minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh chives, roughly minced
- 1-2 tablespoons homemade or store-bought pesto
- 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
- Coarse salt, fresh ground black pepper to taste
- Spring microgreens, for serving
- Fresh chopped parsley, for garnish
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
- Pour broth into a medium sized pot. Heat up and keep warm on the stove.
- In a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and the olive oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms and shallot. Cook for 5 minutes until mushrooms are somewhat softened and they start to release their juices, stirring frequently.
- Add garlic and cook 1 more minute, until fragrant.
- Pour in wine and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
- Add the Arborio rice and half of the herbs. Stir to combine. Toast the rice in the pot for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add warmed chicken broth ½ cup at a time. Cook each time, stirring frequently, until all the liquid is absorbed. When rice seems almost dry, add another ½ cup. To ensure maximum creaminess, while stirring slightly beat the rice against the sides of the pot to help release the starches (aka smash stirring).
- Continue cooking for about 20-25 minutes, adding chicken broth as you go, until rice is tender but with a little bit of a bite. (Start taste testing the rice after about 15 minutes to determine how tender it is).
- Remove pan from heat. Stir in butter, parmesan, peas, and remaining herbs. Stir in pesto and salt to taste. Serve immediately with spring microgreens and parsley to garnish as risotto thickens as it sits, loosing its creaminess.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
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