Mushroom Risotto

Due to hurricane Sandy, classes have been canceled and I have been stuck in my house all day praying that the storm doesn't get too bad. Tonight, since outside is cold and wet, I decided that the perfect meal to make in this crappy weather is risotto.

I love risotto, it is so easy to make and you can basically put whatever type of ingredients you want. I love asparagus and pea risotto in the spring and butternut squash risotto in the winter. I decided to make mushroom risotto tonight. I love the meatiness of the mushrooms and the creamy smooth finish from the rice. The only thing about risotto though is that you have to keep an eye on it at all times or you could burn the rice.

Here is how I did it:

Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients: 
- 2 cups arborio rice
- 6 cups unsalted vegetable stock (chicken or beef if you prefer)
- 1 packet of dried shiitake mushroom
- 1 large onion
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 2 tbs salt
- 1 tbs pepper
- 1 cup of peccorino romano cheese

Pour 6 cups of stock in a pot and place over heat.

Open the pack of died mushrooms and place in a small bowl. Pour warm water over the mushrooms and allow them to rehydrate. Once they are fully hydrated, drain them and set to the side. 

Place another pot over heat and pour 2 tbs of olive oil. Finely chop the onion and sauté with the olive oil. Add the rice to the onions and sauté for 4 minutes. 

Add the boiling broth, one cup at a time, into the rice mixture. Stir frequently. Once you see that the rice has fully soaked up the broth, add some more stock. Do this until all of the liquid has been added. This takes about 30 minutes. 

When you have about a cup of stock left, add your mushrooms. Once all of the stock is in with the rice, turn the heat off and add 1 cup of cheese. 

You can serve this risotto as a side dish or as your entire meal. I had salmon with my risotto but it will taste delicious with a piece of steak or chicken.