*Recipe by Giada De Laurentiis
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Serves 5-6
8 cups low-salt chicken broth
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups white mushrooms, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
2/3 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup frozen peas
2/3 cup grated Parmesan
Salt & pepper
Heat up the chicken broth and let simmer over a low heat.
In a large pot over medium-high heat add the butter, oil and onion. Saute the onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and mushrooms and continue to saute about another 5 minutes. Stir in the rice and saute for a couple minutes to let the grains toast a bit. Add the wine and stir until the rice has absorbed it. Working in one cup batches, add the chicken stock and stir occasionally until the rice has absorbed the liquid. It will take approximately 5 minutes per cup of stock. Add another cup of stock once the rice has absorbed the cup before it. The rice will need about 6-8 cups of liquid and take approximately 25-30 minutes. You will know it is done once you taste it and the grains of rice are tender and the whole dish is a nice creamy consistency. Remove from the heat and stir in the peas and parmesan. Season well with salt and pepper. Garnish with a little extra parmesan on top.
Click here for printable version of Creamy Mushroom & Pea Risotto.
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THE RESULTS?
Nice and creamy. The risotto is full of flavor and it's probably quite dependent on the quality of the chicken broth. I definitely wouldn't use the chicken bouillon that you dissolve in hot water. I used homemade turkey broth and it was delicious.
Be warned if you've never made a risotto: it's time consuming. Expect to stand in front of the stove for a good 40 minutes or so, without walking away. I made sure that my meat dish didn't require any effort; it just baked in the oven.