# Creamy Mushroom Risotto

Creamy Mushroom Risotto — a medium recipe with 7 main ingredients, ready in about 45 min and serving 4. Check which of its ingredients are on sale at grocery stores near you.

- **Time:** 45 min
- **Serves:** 4
- **Difficulty:** medium
- **Tags:** dinner, italian, vegetarian, gluten-free
- **Source:** https://savingrecipes.com/recipes/mushroom-risotto

## Ingredients

- 1 lb mushrooms
- 1.5 cups arborio rice
- 5 cups vegetable broth
- 1 onion
- Parmesan cheese
- Butter
- White wine (optional)
- 2 tbsp olive oil _(pantry staple)_
- Salt & pepper _(pantry staple)_

## Instructions

1. Sear mushrooms in butter until browned; set aside.
2. Soften onion; toast rice 2 min, splash in wine.
3. Add warm broth a ladle at a time, stirring, ~20 min until creamy.
4. Fold in mushrooms, parmesan, and a knob of butter.

## Tips

- Keep the broth warm in a separate pan. Cold broth hitting the rice halts the cooking each time and gives you unevenly cooked grains.
- Toast the rice for 2 minutes before any liquid, until the grains look translucent at the edges. That step keeps them distinct instead of dissolving into porridge.
- Brown the mushrooms separately and hard. Added raw to the risotto they release water and steam themselves grey.

## Substitutions

- **Arborio rice:** Carnaroli holds its shape better and is more forgiving; vialone nano cooks faster. Long-grain rice won't work — the starch is the whole point.
- **Mushrooms:** Any variety, and a mix beats one. Dried porcini soaked in hot water add enormous depth, and the soaking liquid can replace some broth.
- **White wine:** Already optional — a squeeze of lemon at the end gives similar brightness.
- **Parmesan:** Pecorino, grana padano, or nutritional yeast for vegan (with a good vegan butter).

## Storage & reheating

Best within minutes of finishing; it stiffens as it cools. Leftovers keep 2 days — reheat with extra broth and stir, or better, make arancini: roll cold risotto into balls, crumb, and fry.

## Common questions

### Do I really have to stir constantly?

Not constantly, but frequently. Stirring rubs the grains together and releases the starch that makes risotto creamy. Occasional stirring gives you rice in soup.

### How do I know when it's done?

Tender with the faintest resistance at the centre, and it should spread slowly when you tilt the pan — Italians call it all'onda, 'wavy'. Stiff risotto is overcooked or under-liquided.

### Can I make it ahead for guests?

Restaurants par-cook it: stop at 15 minutes, spread on a tray to cool, then finish with the last ladles of broth to order. That works well at home too.


_Photo: Katrin Gilger — CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mushroom_Risotto_(4789415965).jpg)_