Recipe: Mushroom and Leek Risotto

Mushroom Leek Risotto

I've been craving a nice, hearty risotto for a while. With the cold and wet weather recently, I decided this week would be a good time for this type of dish. I had it in my mind that I wanted to make something with mushrooms and leeks. I wanted it to be savory and woodsy, encompassing the flavors of Fall. I have a collection of nice dried mushrooms waiting to be used; some chanterelles picked by friends, and some dried porcinis that I picked with my mushroom picking club.

Risotto is very easy to cook, just be sure you stir it frequently - it sticks to the bottom of your pot otherwise! Do not wash the risotto or you will wash away the gluten that makes it stick together, and this is the texture you want in a risotto.

Mushroom and Leek Risotto Recipe

Ingredients
1 1-lb package of white arborio rice/risotto
2 cups of mushrooms, your choice. I used a mix of dried chanterelles, dried porcinis, and fresh baby bellas.
1/2 of a shallot, chopped
1 large leek, washed and sliced
2 tbsp. butter or olive oil
3 cups liquid of your choice - vegetable, chicken, or beef broth. You can also use the water you soaked dried mushrooms in, if any.
1/2 cup cream sherry
2 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
Salt & pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese

Preparation
Soak any dried mushrooms in hot water and set aside. In a large pot, saute the leek and shallot in the butter or oil until soft. Add fresh sliced mushrooms and saute until nicely browned. Add the thyme, and some salt & pepper to taste. Add the risotto and stir to coat evenly. Bring pot to medium-high heat and add 2/3 of the liquid, stirring, taking care not to let the risotto stick. You want to have a slow boil going, not a rollicking boil or a simmer.

As the risotto cooks, it will absorb the liquid, so add more, half a cup at a time, stirring. At the end, add the sherry, and more salt & pepper to taste. If you've used up all your liquid and the risotto is still too hard, add about half a cup of liquid - more broth, sherry, or water. This might be a sign your heat is too high, so turn it down a little.

The risotto is done when it is al dente. Serve with grated Parmesan on top.

(Images: Kathryn Hill)

Comments (12)

How many cups are in a 1lb bag of rice, I don't buy it by the lb

BlindCaveFish, I'm not sure. It looked like maybe a cup or cup and half to me.

Recipe looks great. One note, though: there's no gluten in arborio rice. It's starchy, but not from gluten.

@jeffzelli thanks for the correction!

One thing missing from this (in my humble opinion): a few squeezes of fresh lemon juice and some lemon zest, and/or some minced up preserved lemon.

Nonetheless, I wish this was what I was having for dinner tonight.

can i use regular sherry? what could i use instead of sherry?

Do you add the mushrooms, cooked and dried (reconstituted) at the same time? Or do the dried mushrooms get added in later?

@squeakycat, you could try some dry white wine. regular sherry is fine too.

@rebecca you add the reconstituted dried mushrooms after the fresh ones have cooked, b/c you don't want to crowd them.

It looks good, but this is not a risotto, it is just rice boiled in broth with some mushrooms, leek and herbs.
Risotto is another thing....

@Anna_B: care to clarify? this is risotto as i've always known it.

This was pretty good. Hearty and warm, which is what I was looking for, a little less flavor then I would have liked, but maybe I should have used another shallot. I also made it w/o the sherry though. I cooked the leeks and mushrooms first and added them back in with about ten minutes left. I might try adding some chicken in next time as well.

Just made it and I thought it turned out really well. As a note for others, I didn't really realize how much risotto this would make... it's a lot! My fiancé and I will be having risotto for lunch for a week. Not that I mind, because it's yummy. Now I just have to figure out what I'm doing with the rest of this sherry!