Mushroom risotto

Name: Mushroom risotto
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 5 cups vegetable broth; 2 tbsp olive oil; 3 tbsp butter, divided; 1 lb baby bella mushrooms, sliced; 1 tsp salt, divided; 2 shallots, finely chopped; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked; 1½ cups arborio rice; ½ cup dry white wine (optional); ¾ cup grated parmesan; ½ tsp black pepper; 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

Creamy, parmesan-rich risotto with deeply browned mushrooms and thyme, the dinner that feels fancy but is really just patient stirring.

50 min total
45 min hands-on
A little more hands-on
Serves 4
About $3.57 a serving
540 calories
Vegetarian
Gluten-free

Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.

Ingredients

For 4 servings.

5 cups vegetable broth
3 tbsp butter, divided
1 lb baby bella mushrooms, sliced
2 shallots, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked
1½ cups arborio rice
½ cup dry white wine (optional)
¾ cup grated parmesan
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

From your pantry

2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt, divided
½ tsp black pepper

Each serving has about 540 calories, 14 g protein, 74 g carbs and 21 g fat, and costs about $3.57 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.

Missing something?

No butter? Ghee works.
No baby bella mushrooms? White mushrooms work.
No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.

Steps

Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.

Pour the broth into a and keep it warm over low heat.
Low heat
Dolly’s tip: Cold broth stops the cooking every time you add it. Warm broth keeps the rice simmering.
Heat the oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large, wide pot over medium-high heat.
Medium-high heat
Add the mushrooms and ½ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring only now and then, 8 to 10 minutes, until .
Medium-high heatTimer: 9 min
Move them to a bowl.
Turn the heat to medium, add 1 tablespoon butter and the shallots and cook 3 minutes, until soft. Stir in the garlic and thyme for 30 seconds.
Medium heatTimer: 3 min
Add the rice and stir 2 minutes, until the edges of the grains look see-through.
Medium heatTimer: 2 min
Dolly’s tip: Toasting the rice helps it keep a little bite in the middle.
If you’re using wine, pour it in and stir until it’s gone, about 1 minute.
Medium heat
Add a ladle of warm broth, about ¾ cup, and stir often until it’s almost absorbed. Keep adding broth a ladle at a time, stirring, for 18 to 22 minutes.
Medium heatTimer: 20 min
Dolly’s tip: Keep it at a lively simmer and stir often, not nonstop. Taste at 18 minutes: it’s ready when the rice is tender with a tiny bite in the center.
Stir the mushrooms back in with the last ladle of broth.
Medium heat
Take the pot off the heat and stir in the parmesan, the rest of the butter and salt, and the pepper until creamy. It should slowly spread when spooned onto a plate.
Dolly’s tip: Too stiff? Loosen it with a splash of hot water. Risotto keeps thickening as it sits.
Serve right away, topped with parsley and extra parmesan.