Mushroom and Black Truffle Risotto
Risotto! Not exactly summer food, I’ll give you that one…I’m making it anyway.
While on a trip with my family earlier this summer, we ate at an Italian restaurant that happened to have a mushroom risotto on the menu. I asked for the chef to make it without cheese (though it did still have chicken broth…compromise people), and it turned out to be a hit. Even without the cheese it was creamy and so satisfying. My family members were all asking for a taste. When I got home, I decided that I had to recreate this recipe.
The ingredients seemed simple enough, arborrio rice, mushrooms, broth…and truffles. Fresh truffles cost an arm and a leg, and I knew that I would never be able to use the whole thing. I have some truffle salt that I picked up on a trip to Chelsea Market in NYC, but I wanted a strong truffle flavor without adding a ton of salt. So the hunt for truffle oil began…
Luckily, a few days after I got back from my trip, I went on a mini-vacation for the 4th of July. I was visiting Portsmouth, NH for the long weekend and found a specialty food shop that happened to have some black truffle infused olive oil. Score! I also found lots of fun plant based treats, all kinds of teas, and a local market that sells my favorite deodorant (Schmidt’s) while I was strolling around Portsmouth. Anyway, the truffle oil worked perfectly for this dish, so that is what I am going to use in the recipe below. If you can’t find truffle oil in your local store, check out Amazon.com. They sell everything there. If you are looking for an oil free option, try to find a truffle salt (since you will have to add some salt to this dish anyway), minced jarred black truffles, or fresh truffles if you can get your hands on them.
Behold this glorious dish:
While you are on the hunt for truffle oil, try to find some brown Arborrio rice as well (they have that on Amazon.com too, I checked). Brown rice is better than white rice for our waistlines, blood sugar, and cardiovascular health. Check out this video for more details.
Happy eating and best health,
Dr. G
Mushroom and Black Truffle Rissoto
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked Arborrio rice (brown if you can find it)
- 6 cups vegetable broth, warmed on the stove top (may need a little more or less depending on the type of rice you use)
- 1 lb mushrooms of your choice, diced (shitake and crimini used in my dish)
- 1 shallot, minced
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1-2 Tbsp truffle oil (to taste, the intensity of truffle flavor may vary quite a bit from one product to another)
- 2 Tbsp chopped parsley for serving
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Pour the vegetable broth into a sauce pan and warm over medium/low heat. It should be warmed, but kept under a simmer.
- In a large skillet, saute mushrooms until cooked through and browned, remove from pan and set aside.
- In the same large skillet add your shallots and garlic. Saute over medium heat until they start to sweat.
- Add the dry uncooked rice to the pan and allow it to start to toast slightly, stir often.
- Once the rice is lightly toasted, add 1/2 cup of the warmed vegetable broth and stir constantly until most of the liquid is absorbed.
- When most of the liquid is absorbed add another 1/2 cup of broth and again stir constantly until almost all of the liquid is absorbed again. The constant stirring allows for even cooking of the rice and helps the dish develop a creaminess to it.
- Continue to add the broth 1/2 cup at a time until you have added it all.
- Check the rice to make sure that is cooked through. If not, add more broth.
- Remove the rice from the heat.
- Stir the mushrooms and any liquid that has come from them to the rice and mix well.
- Add the truffle oil to taste.
- Add salt to taste.
- Sprinkle the fresh parsley over top just prior to serving.
- Enjoy.
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