There is nothing better than a nice, thick and creamy risotto on a cold day. It is an Italian classic recipe and one of my absolute favorite dishes because you can literally put anything you want in it. What makes risotto particular is the type of rice used. You can’t just use any rice, you need to use either Arborio or Carnaroli rice to get the rich creamy texture risotto is known for. I was able to find Arborio rice at WinCo Foods and it was sold in bulk for about a $1.50 per pound.
Like I said, you can literally put anything in risotto but an irresistible combination that I found is using Portobello mushrooms and Italian sausage. Making a risotto is a little bit more complex and difficult than making a pasta. First, you have to have a good vegetable broth. I usually use store-bought broth that is already made but you will find that making your own broth from scratch will make the risotto taste even better. There is also the fact that you have to constantly stir the risotto so it becomes creamy and absorbs all of the broth. Finally, you have to use multiple frying pans to cook the ingredients as well as toasting the rice. In the end however, it is totally worth it as risotto is always a crowd pleaser and an Italian classic. Let us know what you think!
Mushroom and Sausage Risotto
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 3 cups Arborio rice
- 400 grams Portobello mushrooms
- 2 whole Italian sausages
- ½ whole Onion
- 32 oz Vegetable broth
- 4 sprigs Parsley
- 2 tbsp Butter
- Black pepper as needed
- Salt as needed
Instructions
Ingredient Prep:
- Chop the onion into small pieces.
- Chop the mushrooms into thin slices.
- Finely chop the parsley into fine pieces.
- With a knife, make an incision in the sausages and peel off the skin. Chop the sausage into small pieces for cooking later.
Cooking:
- In a large pot, add the vegetable broth and 4 cups of water and cook until the broth begins to boil.
- In a frying pan, add the olive oil and onions and cook on a medium-high heat until the onions begin to melt.
- Add the sliced mushrooms and stir well. Add a 1/2 cup of water and cover with a lid.
- Cook the mushrooms for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid burning.
- Add the chopped sausage to the mushrooms and mix well.
- Cook for another 5 minutes or until the sausage is completely cooked.
- Heat another clean frying pan on a medium-high heat and add the butter.
- Once the butter is completely melted, add the arborio rice and mix well. The goal here is to slightly toast the rice before we begin cooking.
- Once the rice has turned a golden color, began to add the broth to the rice until it slightly covers the rice.
- Stir the rice and broth often.
- Add the sausage and mushroom mix to the rice and stir well.
- Cook the rice for 20 minutes while constantly adding broth and mixing the rice.
- Add salt and pepper to the rice to your liking.
- Once the 20 minutes is up, you will see that the rice has gained a creamy texture. Taste the rice and make sure that it has cooked all the way through. If need be cook for additional time.
- Add the chopped parsley and mix in well with the risotto.
- Grate some Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese on top and plate it up to your liking. Buon Appetito!
Let us know what you think of the recipe in the comments! Like us on Facebook and Instagram to see more content and photos of delicious Italian food!
