I have yet another confession to make: I love Gordon Ramsay. I love watching his shows, I love reading his recipes, I love watching him cook…plus, he’s not not so hard on the eyes and he has a British accent. All of that sums up to a pretty massive crush. The good thing is that my husband loves his attitude and his brash, straight-to-the-point way of going about business and helping others succeed in the food industry.
After years and years of watching him and reading about his recipes, I’ve started to realize that one of his favorite dishes to serve is risotto. When we were watching one of his shows the other day, my husband asked if I have ever made a risotto. My answer was a quick and embarrassing, “No.” Throughout all of these years, I’ve been so intimidated by this dish. I have seen so many chefs try to prepare this for Chef Ramsay only to see him toss it all the way across a kitchen or spit it out. I have read up on risotto and came across horror stories and tales of spending too much time in the kitchen trying to prepare the dish.
Last night, I realized that I had to conquer my fears. I researched traditional risotto recipes and came across one that peaked my interest because it involved a ton of mushrooms (my other love). I poured myself a glass of wine to calm the nerves and got to work preparing a mushroom risotto. After about 20 minutes of stirring, I added the finishing touches and sat there staring down the rice in the pan. The whole mixture looked and smelled delicious but for some reason I was incredibly nervous to try it…obviously, the wine had not kicked in yet.
I took a spoon out of the drawer, dug in, and…wow. I fell in love with yet another food…Mushroom Risotto. I also fell in love with the act of making this dish. Even though it takes 20 minutes to prepare, trust me, it’s worth it. The whole act of stirring is very relaxing. Just pour yourself a glass of wine and stir, stir, stir.
So, there you have it. I love Chef Ramsay, mushrooms, Mushroom Risotto, and making Mushroom Risotto. I can’t wait to have leftovers for dinner tonight.
Mushroom Risotto
Ingredients:
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 pound sliced Portobello Mushrooms
- 1 pound sliced white mushrooms
- 2 shallots, diced
- 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Warm the chicken broth in a saucepan over low heat.
- Warm 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the mushrooms and cook until soft (about 3 minutes). Remove the mushrooms and the liquid and set aside.
- Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the large saucepan and stir in the shallots. Cook 1 minute.
- Add rice to the shallots, stirring to coat the rice with oil. When the rice starts to turn a pale, golden yellow, add the wine, stirring constantly until the wine is fully absorbed.
- Add 1/2 cup broth to the rice and stir until the broth is absorbed. Add another 1/2 cup of broth and stir until the liquid is absorbed. Continue adding 1/2 cup broth to the rice and stir constantly until the broth is absorbed. Repeat this action until the rice is al dente (about 15 to 20 minutes).
- Remove the rice from the heat and stir in mushrooms with their liquid, butter, and Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper (to taste).
* Recipe slightly adapted from All Recipes
Who is your favorite celebrity chef?
I like Gordon Ramsey too though I heard some of his over the top 'brashness' (read the 'f' word that is bleeped out) is just for us Americans. His European shows show a softer side. Go figure.
The risotto looks perfect and I'm not far behind you…the weird thing is I think it's so simple but the reputation of it's being difficult had me shy away. Great job!
I LOVE making risotto. I was terrified at first too and thought it would take a tremendous amount of time, but it really does go by quickly. The only one I've made so far is a lemon risotto. It is so delicious. I'm going to bookmark this for future use! Thanks for sharing. :)
I looove risotto and have fallen in love with mushroom risotto as well. I usually add sausage to mine though since that's the only way the hubby will eat it. Yours looks wonderful!
Mushroom risotto is one of my all-time favorite dishes. Now that you've made risotto for the first time, there's no holding you back. It's a great way to use up leftover veggies, shrimp, etc.
I have to admit that I've 1. never watched Gordon and 2. never even tried risotto, much less made it. This sounds delish though and I like the idea of it… dash of dry white to the measuring cup (since you need 1/2c), swig of wine, another dash, 2 swigs and so on until, 1/2c dry white wine and… "hey! Where did the rest of the bottle go? Hmmm… that's funny." ;)
Risotto is one of my very favorite dishes. The addition of mushrooms takes it to a new level and I can't wait to make this
risotto is one of my favourite things too. I've never found it to be too difficult but I can understand why you'd fear it – people do make it out to be a big deal!
I've actually never made risotto… I always seem to mess up dishes with rice in them, so I've always avoided it. After reading this, I'm thinking I'll have to give it a try.
"The whole act of stirring is very relaxing." Agreed! Dicing is another kitchen process I find very calming.
Thank you for reminding me that I don't make risotto often enough (I didn't know arborio rice came in a box as large as my husband managed to find) and giving me any excuse to eat mushrooms.
We both conquered this fear this year. Yey! The ingredients are so simple yet the result is so delicious. And make, the process of making is oh so relaxing.
Thanks for sharing your story. I've been cooking since I could literally reach the stove. I've always found it relaxing and very rewarding, especially to the tummy! Kinda funny how there are so many people intimidated by a method of making rice. Maybe it's the name "Risotto"? Or possibly the fear of having to actually stand at the stove and continuously stir something for an entire 20 minutes? By the way…I'm totally being sarcastic! I think that maybe it's that you have to put some time into this dish. You can't just throw it in the microwave and be done with it. The "Art" of homecooking seems to have disappeared amongst the generation of faster, simplified and lazier ways to fill ones stomach, rather than the true talent of preparing a meal that becomes a wondrous memory from the first glorious bite. I would like you to know that I am making your recipe tomorrow for dinner. I plan on pouring a glass of wine, getting in my favorite pajamas and cooking up a big pot of Risotto! Thanks for taking the time to write about your story. Thanks for inspiring me and all the wondrous cooks to take the time to make a little bit of Art in the form of Risotto! ~Cook'n Katie~
I was scared too, thought I would never tempt to make Risotto but came across this recipe I decided it was time to take on the challenge & mushroom risotto what better than that. So the only thing I changed was 1 used reg mushrooms & only 1# as my hubby is really not a fan, so I had to go easy on them. WOW it was DEE-LISH worth the time of stirring wish I would have read the comments might have enjoyed the wine while stirring, LOL. Thank You for this recipe. Hope I can post a picture here for you to see.
Pami from Newburg,MO.
Wow! I just never knew how good this was. I really thought I would not like the creaminess and I, too, was worried about not being able to make it properly. But this dish turned out so wonderful, so delicious, even if making it in the dog days of summer brought on a big sweat. We will definitely be having more risotto around this house! I can't wait to try other version. Next up, mushroom with sausage and perhaps even some baby spinach, then that lemon someone mentioned. Can't wait to look up all the variations to consider. Thanks for a nice easy to follow recipe.