Creamy, cheesy, and packed to the brim with umami. What’s not to like? Risotto is a classic northern Italian dish that feels like pasta but is actually rice, slow-cooked in broth until it becomes soft and creamy. Make it rich and flavorful by adding in cheese and mushrooms, seasoning to perfection.
While a traditional risotto is typically made with a short-grain rice, butter, white wine, and parmesan cheese, this simplistic dish offers the opportunity to dress it up in many different ways. In this particular version, which I adapted from a Food & Wine recipe, the butter and white wine are omitted, while mixing in goat cheese amps up the creaminess, and a blend of umami-packed mushrooms takes center stage.
risotto sounds fancy. and difficult.
Okay, if I haven’t temped you yet, let me just say that yes, I know risotto sounds fancy and maybe not worth the effort when your favorite Italian restaurant is just around the corner…BUT, it’s actually not difficult at all to make and only requires a few ingredients. Really, the biggest effort in making risotto is playing the waiting game by stirring the rice and getting it to that perfect consistency.
Other than that, the prep work is almost non-existent, and if you throw on some good music and pour a glass of wine, stirring rice over the stove doesn’t sound so bad. Right?
what's in this dish?
Not much is required for making risotto, but here’s what you’ll need:
Dried porcini mushrooms These are typically found on a rack near the fresh mushrooms at the grocery store. You’ll only need about one ounce of the porcinis for this recipe. A little bit goes a long way with these babies!
Cremini or “baby bella” mushrooms To intensify the flavor of the porcinis and add a little (veggie) meat to the dish, you’ll definitely want to add some sliced baby bellas
Arborio rice Typically, risotto is made with a short-grain, white rice, like Arborio, but other rices could be suitable as well. See my notes on this, below
Goat cheese Classic risotto is usually just made with parmesan, but you can honestly add whatever cheese you want to make it even yummier and creamier. I chose goat cheese for this recipe, and used the crumbled kind just because it’s easier to stir in
Vegetable broth Instead of using water to cook the rice, vegetable broth will help add to the flavor. Alternatively you can use other broths like chicken or beef, but I used veggie to keep this dish vegetarian
I hope you make this dish, and love it! See the full recipe below along with some recipe notes and modifications. Let me know what you think in the comments and/or on instagram (and post pics). Buon appetito!
⟶ the recipe
porcini & goat cheese risotto
ingredients
1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
3 cups vegetable broth
5 cloves garlic, minced
8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, chopped
2 cups brown or Arborio rice (see notes)
½ cup crumbled goat cheese
1 box of arugula
Salt and pepper
Parmesan to serve
Prep time
1 hour
Cook time
30 minutes–1 hour
Total time
1 ½–2 hours
4 servings
instructions
Simmer the porcini in 3 cups of water for about an hour. Making sure they’re nice and soft, set aside the porcini to cool and strain the cooking liquid through a mesh sieve into a new, medium saucepan. Add vegetable broth and bring liquid to a light simmer.
Once the porcini are cool, dice and mix them into a bowl with the baby bellas.
Heat some olive oil in a large skillet, and sauté garlic until fragrant. Add the mushroom mixture and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
After a couple minutes, add rice to the mushroom mixture and stir until rice is coated with oil.
Begin adding the broth to the rice pan about ½ cup at a time. The broth should simmer lightly as the rice cooks, and make sure to stir frequently. Once all the broth has been soaked up, add another ½ cup, and stir. Continue this process until the rice is tender (but don’t let it get soupy—you may not need to use all the broth if the rice seems cooked well enough).
Remove risotto from the heat, and stir in half a cup of goat cheese crumbles. Season with salt and additional pepper to taste.
Serve on a bed of arugula with freshly grated Parmesan.
⟶ recipe notes
- I tried to be healthyish by using short-grain brown rice, but if you’re looking for a more classic risotto, I would recommend using Arborio rice, which is traditionally used for risotto. Plus the rice I used took foreeeeeever to cook, and I had to use additional broth to help it along. But I personally love the taste of brown rice so I still thought it was delicious, and if you’ve got the time, try it!
⟶ modifications
- To make this dish vegan, just skip the cheese. I promise it will still be creamy and delicious
⟶ make it ahead and store it
- You can absolutely cook the porcinis ahead of time, and I usually do when I’m cooking with them. Just make sure to wrap them tightly in cling wrap and refrigerate and reserve the cooking liquid in a mason jar
- The leftover risotto will keep for three to five days in the refrigerator
if you liked it, share it...
and then try one of these!
sweet potato
grain bowl
veggie mains
classic hummus
sauces & dips
dad's birthday breakfast frittata
breakfast
