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. The result: savory, warming risotto, with mushrooms and leeks.
Risotto is very easy to cook, just be sure you stir it frequently — it sticks to the bottom of your pot otherwise! And, of course, it's all the stirring that breaks down the rice to create the smooth, creamy "sauce" of a good risotto.
This recipe is quite straightforward — read through our instructions on how to make great risotto at home if you want a quick refresher on the method. This recipe is also flexible! You can use all fresh mushrooms, or a mixture of dried and fresh. Whatever appeals to you (or, of course, whatever your mushroom-hunting friends bring to your door).
Mushroom and Leek Risotto
serves 61/2 ounce dried mushrooms, optional
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large leek, washed thoroughly and sliced
1/2 shallot or 1/4 small red onion, finely diced
2 cups roughly chopped fresh mushrooms
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups (1 pound) white arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine or cream sherry
4 to 5 cups liquid, such as chicken broth, beef broth, the water used to steep dried mushrooms
Parmesan cheese, to serve
If using dried mushrooms, place them in a small bowl and cover with hot water. Set aside. In a large pot, heat the butter over medium heat. Sauté the leek and shallot in the butter for 10 minutes, or until soft.
Push the leek and shallot up against the edge of the pan, and raise the heat to medium-high. Add the fresh mushrooms to the center of the pan. Cook for several minutes without stirring, then flip them over and cook until nicely browned. If using dried mushrooms, drain them now (reserving the steeping liquid) and add them to the pan. Stir in the thyme leaves and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
Add the rice and stir to coat evenly with the butter and vegetables. Sauté for several minutes, or until the rice begins to turn translucent. Pour in the white wine or cream sherry and stir until it is nearly gone.
Continue adding the remaining liquid (broth, or a mixture of broth and the steeping liquid from the dried mushrooms), stirring frequently. Continue adding liquid and stirring until the rice is cooked to al dente, cooked-through completely but still with a bit of a bite. Taste and season if necessary with additional salt and pepper.
Serve with grated Parmesan on top.
Related:
• Seasonal Spotlight: Chanterelle Mushrooms
How To Clean Leeks
• Recipe: Duck with Black Olives and Black Olive Risotto
• Recipe: Spring Lemon Risotto with Asparagus and Fiddlehead Ferns
• Recipe Recommendation: Risotto with Squash and Sage
(Images: Faith Durand; Kathryn Hill)
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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.
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!
Oh but this doesn't look like risotto, it looks like a rice dish with mushrooms. Risotto should be creamy and not dry like the dish on the picture. Which im sure is tasty, but not a risotto.
@Kärt pictures notwithstanding, this risotto is very creamy. If you like your risotto more on the liquid side, you can add more broth in the cooking process, too.
I make risotto a lot, using whatever vegetables we have around--but leeks and mushrooms are almost always part of it. I've always followed the template in How to Cook Everything, and per the comment above, mine also comes out much creamier looking than the photo here. But it is just a matter of proportions--Mark Bittmans' recipes use about 6 cups of liquid for a cup-and-a-half of rice, very different from the recipe here. FWIW, I think "risotto" is defined by using arborio rice and the cooking method of gradually adding liquid while stirring. How creamy it turns out just depends on how much liquid you use--although I think depending on the temp and the speed you add it, with the lesser amount of liquid you might run out of liquid before the rice is fully cooked... It's an art, not a science. : )
@Kärt: I also like quite a creamy risotto, with an almost soupy consistency. I use a lot of stock, stir vigorously and frequently to release the starch from the rice, and allow the finished dish to sit, with a good dollop of butter and grating of parmesan, covered, for 5 mins before serving.
I made it with parboiled short grain brown rice - it came out heavenly!!