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Mushroom Risotto

August 4, 2015 42 Comments

This classic Italian rice dish is creamy and hearty, getting its big flavor from a variety of mushrooms, as well as garlic, balsamic vinegar, and tarragon.

Mushroom-Risotto

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Mushroom Risotto
Prep time:  20 mins
Cook time:  50 mins
Total time:  1 hour 10 mins
Serves: 4 to 6 (makes about 6 cups)
 
Ingredients
  • 7 cups water
  • 1 cup chopped shallots, leeks, or yellow or white onion
  • 6 medium shiitake mushrooms, sliced (about 2¼ cups)
  • 1 medium portabella mushroom, sliced into small pieces (about 2 cups)
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic (4 or 5 medium cloves)
  • 1½ cups dry/uncooked Arborio rice
  • ¼ cup balsamic vinegar (use ⅛ cup if you prefer a milder flavor)
  • 1 teaspoon granulated onion
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh tarragon, plus a little more for garnish
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)
  • 1 ounce raw, unsalted cashews, ground (about ¼ cup for garnish; optional)
Instructions
  1. Bring the 7 cups of water to a low boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Reduce the heat so the water is steaming but not boiling. Leave it on the stovetop.
  2. On a separate burner, heat 1 tablespoon of water in a 4- to 5-quart, heavy-duty saucepan over medium-high heat. When the water starts to sputter, add the shallots (or leeks or onions), and cook while stirring for 3 to 5 minutes until soft, adding a little water, as needed, to prevent sticking.
  3. Add all of the mushrooms and garlic, and continue stirring for about 3 minutes, adding water as needed. Add the rice and stir until the edges of the rice are translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and granulated onion, and stir until you can no longer see any vinegar in the bottom of the pot.
  4. Pour in 1 cup of the hot water, stirring until it has been almost completely absorbed (2 to 3 minutes). Continue to add 1 cup of water at a time, stirring nearly continuously. This gradual technique is the key to getting the rice to release its starch, thereby making the dish creamy. This process takes 30 to 40 minutes and uses 6 to 7 cups of the hot water. The risotto is ready when the rice is soft but still has a bit of chew to it.
  5. Stir in the tarragon and lemon zest (if using). If desired, garnish with chopped tarragon and/or cashews (grind nuts with a rotary cheese grater, which gives the effect of parmesan cheese). When reheating leftovers, stir in a little water or unsweetened nondairy milk, as the risotto will have thickened considerably.
Notes
If you don't have access to fresh tarragon, you can use basil instead, but in my opinion, the tarragon really makes this dish.

If you want to use salt-free, homemade vegetable stock in place of the water, you may.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: ⅙ recipe (1 cup) Calories: 230 Fat: 3.4g Saturated fat: 0.4g Carbohydrates: 45.0g Sugar: 4.7g Sodium: 20mg Fiber: 2.8g Protein: 8.2g Cholesterol: 0
3.5.3226

If you make this recipe and enjoy it, please share a comment below or on my Facebook page. If you’d like to print this recipe, use the green “Print” button near the top-right of the recipe. Learn more about the Straight Up Food Cookbook here. Thank you!

Filed Under: International Dishes, Main Dishes Tagged With: Arborio rice, cashews, garlic, lemon zest, mushroom risotto, no-oil, no-salt, plant-based, risotto, shallots, SOS-free, tarragon, vegan, vinegar

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Comments

  1. Susan says

    August 4, 2015 at 9:51 am

    must make this – last night I had a grilled portobello mushroom with sautéed mushrooms on it so this is right up my alley. Looks wonderful!!!

    Reply
  2. Kristina Dominy says

    August 4, 2015 at 9:29 pm

    Could I use 2 tsp of dried tarragon when the mushrooms are added if I don’t have access to fresh?

    Reply
    • Cathy says

      August 5, 2015 at 12:44 am

      Sure! Let me know if it works well; I’ll add it to the recipe. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Miri says

    August 9, 2015 at 11:30 am

    White arborio makes the creamiest risotto . If you use short brown rice because you want to eat healthier it will not be creamy and you need to cooked it for 50 minutes . I add some cauliflower or zucchini to create some creaminess and some nutritional yeast or some vegan cheese .

    Reply
    • Tom says

      September 4, 2015 at 6:57 am

      oooh, i really like the addition of the cauliflower and zucchini to create creaminess. I make many cauliflower based sauces, but never thought about that or zucchini in this context. THANK YOU for the excellent tip!

      Reply
  4. Jan-Marie says

    August 9, 2015 at 4:17 pm

    I made this and it was delicious. I’m not a big fan of shiitakes so I just used more of the other. Also hubby allergic to onion family foods (except garlic) and this dish was still very flavorful. I didn’t use all of the water/broth, so saved it in the fridge to add to the leftovers for reheating as it gets VERY sticky after it cools and sits.

    Reply
    • Cathy says

      August 9, 2015 at 4:59 pm

      Thanks for the feedback, Jan-Marie! 😉

      Reply
  5. Kris McCormack says

    August 11, 2015 at 8:16 am

    I’ve read that arborio rice is a white rice — which I assumed meant the bran was removed. Is that correct? I avoid all flours and “broken grains” these days. If arborio is a broken grain, I may try this recipe using short grain brown rice and deal with the overnight soaking and longer cooking time. Thanks for another tasty-looking recipe, Cathy!

    Reply
    • Cathy says

      August 11, 2015 at 9:39 am

      It is a white rice, which I rarely eat, but I am fine with once in a while. Let me know how the brown rice works. 🙂 Thanks!

      Reply
      • Tom says

        September 4, 2015 at 6:59 am

        I love the thoughtful reply Cathy. Basically how I think about this is “if I eat an A+ diet all week long and one night my diet is an A because I added a white arborio, I can live with that as I have a pretty good average going for myself” 🙂

        Reply
  6. Cindy says

    August 11, 2015 at 12:11 pm

    I’ve just made this following your recipe. It is really delicious. Wanna say big thanks to you!

    Reply
    • Cathy says

      August 11, 2015 at 8:23 pm

      Thank you Cindy! 😉

      Reply
  7. Karen says

    August 13, 2015 at 2:59 pm

    Planning to make this. Just curious, did you use white balsamic?

    Reply
    • Cathy says

      August 13, 2015 at 5:07 pm

      No, just regular. 🙂 But you can probably use white.

      Reply
  8. Julia Quick says

    August 31, 2015 at 3:38 pm

    Just trying this in England – using “a cup” same cup for rice and other ingredients, seems like a huge amount of vinegar and is not doing well at the moment with one cup water to go and its cooked?? Any suggestions. We are at the beginning of getting used to the SOS….

    Reply
    • Cathy says

      August 31, 2015 at 4:56 pm

      Hi Julia, not sure what you mean; but the vinegar is just one-quarter cup (1/4 cup). You can keep adding water and cooking until the rice is tender; not sure where it went off the tracks. Sorry. 🙂

      Reply
  9. Julia Quick says

    September 1, 2015 at 4:29 am

    I did just use one quarter cup of balsamic. Followed all the proportions. But it ended up just too much vinegar flavour. ? But thanks will keep trying,,

    Reply
    • Cathy says

      September 1, 2015 at 10:30 am

      The balsamic vinegar mostly cooks off in step 5, leaving its sweet flavors and less of the vinegar flavor. This is often done using cooking wine in other risotto recipes, but we do not use alcohol/wine at my center; but it’s the same idea. If you don’t want any vinegar flavor, just leave it out or use less. When the dish is complete, you should not be tasting vinegar, just a slight sweet tanginess, which is characteristic of ristottos.

      Reply
  10. Julia Quick says

    September 2, 2015 at 4:13 pm

    Perhaps I didn’t cook it off enough in step 5…. thanks for the explanation.

    Reply
  11. nakuraku says

    September 10, 2015 at 4:08 am

    I made this a few days ago and it was delicious and oh so easy to make!

    Reply
  12. arielle says

    November 10, 2015 at 2:13 pm

    hi cathy – do you think this would work in the slow cooker?
    thanks

    Reply
    • Cathy says

      November 10, 2015 at 8:39 pm

      I’ve not done it, but I see there are recipes online when I search “risotto in crock pot.” Look through a few and give it a try. 😉

      Reply
  13. Stacy says

    November 24, 2015 at 11:06 am

    Made this and liked it prior to adding the tarragon. I think next time we will skip the tarragon and use maybe basil, as it changed the flavor of it drastically to something we did not care for.

    Reply
    • Cathy says

      November 24, 2015 at 7:44 pm

      Thanks Stacy. Tarragon is a strong flavor for sure (but in a good way for my tastes); substituting with basil is a good variation. Thanks!

      Reply
  14. Martine Lille says

    December 3, 2015 at 12:00 pm

    I tried this recipe but I used brown Jasmine rice and it didn’t turn out creamy. I felt it was a flop and put it away in the fridge. Two days later I took it out for supper. The taste was amazing!!! Even Hubby, who is still a confirmed meat eater and dairy lover, loved it! Like I said, I wasn’t convinced at first but wow. The little bit of lemon zest and the tarragon really makes this dish sing.

    Reply
    • Cathy says

      December 3, 2015 at 3:21 pm

      Great comment, thanks Martine! 😉

      Reply
  15. Martine Lille says

    July 19, 2016 at 5:27 pm

    I tried this recipe but I used brown Jasmine rice and it didn’t turn out creamy. I felt it was a flop and put it away in the fridge. Two days later I took it out for supper. The taste was amazing!!! Even Hubby, who is still a confirmed meat eater and dairy lover, loved it! Like I said, I wasn’t convinced at first but wow. The little bit of lemon zest and the tarragon really makes this dish sing.

    Reply
  16. karen says

    August 11, 2016 at 9:11 pm

    Do you have pressure cooker instructions for it?

    Reply
    • Cathy says

      August 11, 2016 at 10:04 pm

      No, sorry. 🙁

      Reply
  17. Diane says

    August 15, 2016 at 2:25 am

    Just made this and found the balsamic vinegar overpowering. If I make it again, I’ll halve the amount. Otherwise, it was nice and creamy.

    Reply
    • Cathy says

      August 15, 2016 at 9:16 am

      The flavors in this dish have elicited different responses. That the tarragon is too much and also the lemon zest, but it’s a personal preference. I like the strong flavor of the vinegar (and lemon and tarragon), but if you don’t care for it, just scale it back next time you make it. I am also guessing that different balsamic vinegars have different intensities and qualities. But this recipe like all others on this blog is open to any variations that make you happy; so tweak until your heart’s content! 😉

      Reply
  18. Barbara J. Angel says

    October 14, 2016 at 11:30 am

    Awesome !, i really like the addition of the cauliflower and zucchini to create creaminess. I make many cauliflower based sauces, but never thought about that or zucchini in this context.
    Thanks.

    Reply
    • Cathy says

      October 14, 2016 at 11:54 am

      Thanks Barbara! This recipe doesn’t call for cauliflower or zucchini; were you making a different recipe?

      Reply
  19. Samia says

    December 29, 2016 at 12:44 pm

    Instead of adding 7 cups of water 1 cup at a time and standing over the stove for 1/2 an hour or so, I’d try cooking the rice the ordinary way, then near the end of cooking I’d add maybe 2 cups of water + 2 T. of white rice flour and let it cook, approaching the stove and stirring once in a while.

    As you can see, some of us haven’t studied classical cooking techniques and we don’t want to spend all that time in front of the stove. LOL

    Tks. I like your oil free cooking suggestions. I have to stop with all the fat and oil.

    Reply
    • Cathy says

      January 1, 2017 at 2:11 pm

      You can do it however you like, of course, but the idea with risotto is that the more you stir this particular type of rice (arborio), the creamier it will become. It’s laborious, for sure, but the technique delivers a great, creamy texture in lieu of cheese, cream/butter/oil, or processed thickeners (like corn starch). I am a self-trained cook, I just looked online to see how others made their risotto. 🙂

      Reply
  20. Dana Spomer says

    January 21, 2017 at 5:44 pm

    The instructions don’t mention when to add the granulated onion?

    Reply
    • Cathy says

      January 22, 2017 at 9:54 am

      Thanks Dana! I added it in step 5. 🙂

      Reply
  21. Nadine says

    July 10, 2017 at 8:17 pm

    YUM! made this last night but couldn’t find fresh tarragon so added some dried (half the amount as it’s quite a strong flavoured herb). Even my husband came back for a 2nd helping. I found that 5 cups of stock/water was enough, I used a vegan style chicken stock.

    Reply
  22. Steve says

    December 27, 2017 at 12:44 pm

    I need more practice!! Came out way to stiff and sticky. Maybe next time. Nice flavor though I did cut back on the balsamic. I think the quality of the balsamic might make a difference also.

    Reply
  23. Sue says

    January 25, 2018 at 12:58 am

    Your mushroom risotto looks so yummy! I love a good risotto and mushrooms are beautiful.

    Reply
  24. Aisha says

    April 25, 2019 at 5:36 am

    I would like to do this recipe in an instant pot, any idea how long it would take, i might use brown risotto rice

    Reply
    • Cathy says

      April 25, 2019 at 1:15 pm

      I don’t know, but search “risotto in Instant Pot” to see what others do; I did find this recipe for brown rice risotto in an IP.

      Reply

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Welcome to Straight Up Food! I’m Cathy Fisher, a chef and teacher whose passion is creating recipes without animal foods, salt, oil or sugar, and very few processed foods. Eating a whole-foods diet dramatically improves the health and well-being of humans, animals, and the environment—there are no downsides, only benefits! For more information about this blog and my work, click here. Thank you!

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