Mushroom & Leek Risotto, Part Deux

This particular risotto is tied to something a little deeper, but it doesn’t matter if your craving comes with a “situation” or not.

Risotto is comforting and restorative no matter what you’re wrangling… but it seems like a lot of people skip it because it has a reputation for being persnickety or difficult. If I’m honest, there are probably plenty of people who dodge me because I’m persnickety or difficult.

I had been craving risotto and restocked my arborio rice supply, and there is nevereverever a shortage of mushrooms in my home. Usually, I do a spin on peas or some other green item to round out my overwhelming desire for mushrooms in risotto.

But on a last-minute grocery run to add a few fresh items to our weekend selections, I was delighted to spot leeks in the produce section and snapped them up with unclear purpose.

Whenever I’m planning to make a certain dish that I essentially know how to make (but would feel better if I brushed up on technique), I type in the name of the dish + kitchn in my search bar. This ensures that the very first result I’ll see regarding the dish will be from The Kitchn, my absolute favorite food site.

So, imagine my delight when risotto + kitchn brought up this Mushroom & Leek Risotto! Perfect.

As usual, though, we made it our own… here are our tweaks:

• No white wine (well, that I was willing to part with for a recipe) on hand, so we used a mix of about 1 tbsp Ramo d’Olivo lemongrass white balsamic + about 3 tbsp lemon juice for deglazing.
• I like the wine I’m drinking – in this case, an uptown (ha!) Bota Malbec – to go right into the recipe… we used about a cup. I’ve learned from experience that too much red wine in risotto will make it come out as a very unappealing gray dish, so moderation is key.
• One full carton of Swanson vegetarian vegetable broth sufficed for us on the additional liquid painstakingly poured while incessantly stirring.
• We added a little shaved Parmesan (needed to use it up) to the dish along with the liquids – it takes the delicious risotto broth up a notch in terms of thickness.
• When serving, we topped the risotto with shredded Parmesan, lots of fresh chopped green onions for extra green & extra crunch, and a light douse of pink Himalayan salt.

I can honestly say that Sophie’s risotto was the best batch ever turned out of my kitchen, whether its perfect seasoning came from salty tears or much-needed time together.

Regardless, it came out hearty, satisfying and comforting – just as risotto ought to be.

 

The rest of the story: http://littlemagpie.wpengine.com/onparentingandrisotto/