Winter might be coming to a close, but I’m still craving cozy comfort food. And as far as comfort food goes, risotto is near the top of my list. This Crimini Mushroom Risotto checks all of the boxes – creamy, warm, earthy, cheesy – its pretty perfect. Although there are many ways to make mushroom risotto, I wanted this one to be perfectly smooth, so I finely minced the mushrooms after roasting them. The result is a perfectly cozy bowl of tender rice with deep mushroom flavor. When those rainy spring afternoons start to come, I know what I’ll be cozying up with – this risotto.
This risotto starts like most others – with olive oil, onions, and garlic. The base of flavor that these classics provide is just crucial in my opinion. They set the stage for whatever other flavors you decide to add. I also like to use thyme whenever I make mushroom risotto, because thyme and mushrooms are just a match made in heaven.
Another key ingredient for this recipe is pecorino romano cheese. This is honestly one of my favorite cheeses of all time, and it works so well here for a couple reasons. First – its a pretty salty cheese, and mushrooms have a lot of water and earthy flavor. The salty cheese helps to season the risotto that has been “diluted” with the mushrooms and amplifies the flavor they provide. Second, this cheese has a very sharp, distinct flavor. This sharpness plays against the deep, round, earthy mushroom flavor absolutely perfectly. The two flavors oppose each other in the best way, making for a complexly flavorful final dish without too many ingredients.
Don’t like mushrooms but still want risotto? Try these:
Sweet Corn Risotto with Thyme and Mascarpone
There’s just something comforting about standing by the stove, stirring a bubbly pot of risotto. It warms even the gloomiest of days and provides a satisfying and inexpensive meal for days (if you don’t eat it all in one night…like me).
I hope you love this Crimini Mushroom Risotto as much as I do! If you make this recipe, leave a comment and let me know what you thought or feel free to ask a question! I’d also love to see what you made! Tag me in your food pics @fortheperfectbite or use #fortheperfectbite on Instagram
Crimini Mushroom Risotto
Equipment
- Food Processor
Ingredients
- 1 pound crimini mushrooms
- olive oil
- 1 tbsp salted butter
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 cups Arborio rice
- 2 large sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried thyme)
- ¾ cup dry white wine
- 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup pecorino romano cheese, grated
- kosher salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Wash the crimini mushrooms, then arrange on a baking sheet. Lightly drizzle to coat with olive oil, then roast until soft, about 15 minutes.
- In a food processor, blend the mushrooms until finely ground.
- In a large pot, melt the butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and saute until just starting to caramelize, about 4 minutes.
- Warm the chicken broth in a separate pot on the stove until just steaming.
- Stir the rice, thyme sprigs, and 1 tsp. salt into the garlic and onion. Increase the heat to medium-high and toast the rice, stirring, about 4 minutes, until the rice is just barely browning.
- Pour in the wine. Stir until the wine is absorbed into the rice.
- Decrease the heat back to medium and stir in a few ladles of the hot chicken broth. Cook, stirring often, until the broth is absorbed, keeping a gentle simmer going. Continue this process, adding the chicken broth a ladle at a time and stirring until it is absorbed, until all the broth is gone.
- Taste a small spoon of rice to check for doneness, it should be soft with just a slight chew to it.
- When the rice is cooked, stir in the ground mushrooms, pecorino romano cheese, and freshly cracked black pepper and salt, to taste.
- If the risotto is too thick, it can be thinned with a little more broth. If it is too thin, it can be simmered a bit longer to thicken.
- Remove the woody thyme sprigs.Serve, with extra cheese for topping, if desired.
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