Our mushroom queen Riane is visiting Boston this week, so for her first night in the bean I thought it would be nice to have a relaxing evening with some red wine, rummikub, and a hearty portion of mushroom risotto. Risotto is a great dinner to make with friends because you all get to hang out in the kitchen and when one person’s arm gets tired of stirring- just pass the spoon off to the next person in line. Even if you have friends that claim they can’t cook, get them to stir the risotto while you add the stock, it may help boost their kitchen confidence.
Red Wine Mushroom Risotto
I dubbed this version “red wine” mushroom risotto because the last time I made it I used a white wine and missed out on the striking burgundy color.
Ingredients:
1 C Arborio rice
1 Quart Stock, mushroom would work nice but chicken or vegetable are fine
1/4 C red wine
1 package mushrooms, medium sliced*
1 celery stock, diced
1 large shallot, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 TBS freshly chopped thyme
1 bay leaf
2 TBS butter
1/4 C parm or pecorino romano
Salt & Pepper to taste
BEFORE you start on the risotto make sure you bring stock to a low simmer.
MELT 1 TBS butter and a drizzle of olive oil in a heavy stock pot.
SAUTEE shallots, garlic, bay leaf, salt and pepper until tender and add rice.
COOK rice until it becomes translucent and then deglaze with wine.
ONCE wine is absorbed add stock in batches making sure it is absorbed before adding more.
WHEN half of the stock is added stir in mushrooms and thyme and continue to add stock until the rice is tender but still holds its consistency.
TURN off heat, stir in remaining butter (should be room temperature) and grated cheese, remove bay leaf and its ready to serve!
*Riane was in charge of chopping the mushrooms and I’m glad she chose to slice them medium thick- they really held up in the cooking process.
The beets I used were the “candy-striped” variety so that’s why they do not appear that vibrant red in the picture above. I quartered and steamed them for around 30-40 minutes until they became tender and the peeling came off with ease. From there I chopped them into a small dice, put them in a jar and covered them with olive oil and red wine vinegar. My taste buds fall on the side of salty/sour so I like to add alot of vinegar to my beets to balance our the sweetness but if you are a fan of sweet then you should hold back on the vinegar.
the trinity of celery, onions and carrots- the foundation for chicken soup. I sauteed these vegetables plus some garlic and bay leaf to make a basic risotto. At the end rather than stirring in grated cheese I used lemon zest to give it a nice bite; a great suggestion I borrowed from 
Tender strips they sell at Harvest (best deal around $3.50 a pound). I tossed them with olive oil, salt pepper and dried oregano then layered some lemon slices over the top. Baked in a 425 degree oven for 25 minutes, then let them sit on the stove top covered for another 10 minutes the let the juices redistribute. Garnish with a little fresh parsley or chopped celery leaves and dinner is served.
