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I Am... Risotto with mushrooms and eggs and parm

September 19, 2023 • 4 comments • Posted in: italian, mushroom, rice, risotto

The coziest risotto recipe topped with an egg and plenty of parm! Super creamy, super comforting, and so, so delicious. I LOVE risotto. It’s kind of retro and not really popular at modern restaurants, but creamy, cheesy rice? Um, yes please! To me, it’s the perfect kind of fancy, kind of out of the ordinary dish I love making, either on weeknights or special occasions. Risotto was one of the very first things I ever learned how to cook when I first moved out! I have to admit, the very first time was a disaster. I must’ve spent hours at the stove, stirring until I thought my arm was going to fall off. It was way back in the day when blogs or cooking wasn’t as popular as it is now and I didn’t have much to go on and I didn’t know that you’re supposed to heat the stock before you add it to the rice. Even after hours of stirring, the rice was still crunchy. Mike ate it and said it was good, but I knew he was just being nice…Anyway, many, many pots of risotto and many recipes later and lesson learned. I’m here to give you all the tips and tricks to making the perfect risotto with the best and coziest recipe out there!

What is risotto?

Risotto is an Italian rice dish where the rice is cooked in a specific way to become gooey and creamily delicious, yet still firm, in a way most other rice dishes aren't. Properly cooked risotto becomes rich and creamy due to the grains of rice rubbing against each other and releasing their starch into the cooking liquid. The grains of rice are al dente and separate, while still kind of fluid. Italians say that it is all’onda, which means that it’s kind of flowing and wavy - they’re talking about how when it’s served on a flat plate the risotto spreads out but isn’t super liquid. Risotto comes in many different regional flavors and in more modern ones too. My favorite is mushroom but I also like a carbonara-type risotto with crispy guanciale, egg, and pecorino.

How to make risotto

1. Bring a pot of stock up to a simmer. Keep the stock hot so it can cook the rice while you’re stirring.
2. Cook the aromatics. Gently cook your aromatics: onions, shallot, or garlic in some butter or oil until soft, but not brown. Deglaze the pan with a bit of wine, stirring, until most of the wine is cooked off.
3. Toast the rice. Stir the rice into the aromatics, being sure to coat each grain of rice with butter/oil. Coating the grains of rice with fat before adding any liquid helps them cook evenly so the outsides don’t become mushy before the insides get tender.
4. Add the stock. Slowly ladle in the hot stock, while stirring, so the grains of rice rub up against each other and release their creamy starches. Continue to add stock and stir until the rice is just cooked through, creamy, and al dente.
5. Finish and serve! Stir in some butter and cheese to finish, taste and season with salt and pepper. Enjoy immediately!

The only risotto recipe you need

All you need for this classic risotto recipe is arborio rice, broth, butter, aromatics (like onions, shallots, or garlic), white wine, and cheese.

Risotto Rice: do you need it?

Yes! The key to risotto is the rice. My go to rice for risotto is arborio, an Italian short grain rice that has a higher starch content which helps thicken the cooking liquid and make it creamy. When cooked right, the grains of rice are firm, creamy, and not at all soft. It’s the most common of all the rice varieties used to make risotto and you can easily find it at the grocery store. That being said, if you’re deep into risotto and want to branch out into other risotto rices, try carnaroli - it has a slightly firmer texture and its harder to accidentally overcook, so it has a great texture. Vialone Nano is also a fantastic risotto rice: it cooks quickly, absorbs flavors beautifully, and finishes incredibly silky. You’d definitely have to check out a specialty store to find these guys (or online, as linked).

Broth

Generally, I like using unseasoned broth so I can control the salt content of the risotto. All you need to know here is: use a broth/stock you like and make sure you keep it at a low simmer before you start cooking the rice. We tend to just go with a basic chicken broth, but we also have a tendency to get creative! We love risotto with dashi, duck broth, leftover ramen soup, pho soup, essentially if we have leftover flavored liquids in the fridge, you better believe we’ve tried risotto with it!

Butter/Oil

Risotto needs a bit of fat to coat the grains of rice to help it cook evenly. You can go with all butter or all oil, typically we use a mix of butter and olive oil so you can get a little brown butter nuttiness without overwhelming the dish.

Aromatics

The traditional aromatic used in risotto is finely chopped onions, but you can also go for any and all aromatics: shallots, garlic, leeks, ginger, lemongrass, scallions, celery, carrots, chilis, there are so many possibilities. We prefer shallots because they are smaller – therefore cuter – and sweeter.

Wine

A dry, crisp Italian white is classically used. I say go for a bottle that you like drinking - there isn’t so much wine in risotto but it does add a lovely layer of flavor so you’ll want to use a decent bottle. It might seem like a tiny amount but it adds so much flavor. If you’re non alcoholic, you can skip out on this step.

Cheese

Make it rain cheese! Cheese gives risotto and extra boost of umami and creaminess. Parmesan is everyone's go to but you can definitely be creative here too. Just make sure it’s very finely grated so it melts nicely into the rice.

Cream or no cream?

Most purists say that cream has no place in a REAL risotto. I say, I love cream and there’s nothing wrong with adding a bit in at the end to give your risotto an extra bit of deliciousness. Technically, the creaminess in risotto comes from the starch that comes off of the rice while cooking, so if you’re cream averse, you can leave it out.

The best recipe is the one you invent

But, life is too short for classic plain risotto. Mix it up with these variations or invent your own:

Mushroom

My favorite of all is mushroom risotto, but especially a garlicky brown butter mushroom risotto. The nuttiness of the brown butter with the earthiness of mushrooms can’t be beat. You can use whichever mushrooms you have on hand, but I like to use a mix if I can. If you’re using white or cremini mushrooms, slice them, but if you’re using a mix (portobellos, trumpet, shiitake, enoki, porchini), tear them so they end up with differently sized craggily bits that sear nicely. This one is so good that it's our default, and the main risotto recipe below.

Sautéed vegetables

Melt butter in a pan, then add 1-2 cups bite sized spring vegetables of choice (sugar snap peas, asparagus, peas) and cook until bright green. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper and stir in chopped herbs of choice. Stir half into the risotto and top with the remaining half.

Roasted tomatoes

Heat butter with a bit of olive oil in a pan and lightly cook 2-3 cloves chopped garlic. Add 1-2 cups tomatoes of choice and cook, carefully pressing down until the tomatoes are soft and jammy. Taste and season with salt, pepper, and chili flakes. Stir half into the risotto and top with the remaining half.

Risotto Carbonara

Brown guanciale or pancetta cubes until crisp. Make a soft sous vide egg or a jammy boiled egg. Top the risotto with the crispy pork, egg, and a generous amount of pecorino or parm and black pepper.

Lobster Risotto

When you need that little bit of luxe comfort, lobster risotto is here for you. Shown here with reverse seared steak.

Risotto tips

Hot cooking liquid

Hot cooking liquid is the number one thing you need to succeed at making risotto. Having your broth at a simmer and ready will make your risotto making process so much smoother and faster because the broth won’t take as much time to come to a boil when you’re adding it to the rice. The hot broth will also coax out more creaminess out of each grain and prevents overcooking.

Layers of flavor

Why stop at just regular chicken broth? you can infuse your stock with any and all flavors. Add some herbs or spices in while you’re heating it up for an extra layer of flavor. Ditto on when you lightly fry your rice in butter. You can always bloom some spices or lightly fry up some aromatics like garlic, shallots, onions, ginger.

Stir, but not too much.

You don’t need to stir constantly, just slowly stream in the stock and stir occasionally. If you’re stirring constantly, you’re dispersing the heat, making it harder for the rice to cook.

Finish with butter and cheese

This one is a no brainer. Stir in a bit of butter for that extra creamy mouthfeel and a huge amount of cheese for umami and cheesiness. And, if you’re like me, you can add in a swoosh of cream too, just so you can be a bit extra.

Top it with an egg

And, if you want to be REALLY extra, top off your risotto with a soft sous vide egg for an extra bit of oomph and creaminess.

Eat it right away

The longer risotto stands, the thicker it gets as the starch sets. You’ll lose the creamy silkiness you worked so hard to achieve, so make sure you have your bowls or plates at the ready.  

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