If I were to ever make a cookbook, the general theme would be recipes that are impressive and seem difficult, but are, in fact, easy. Things like an herbed, roasted chicken with golden, crispy skin; a pasta sauce that tastes like it was developed through generations of “Nonnas,” made from ingredients anyone can get their hands on; and a homemade pie with fruit filling, encased in a crust that seems elaborate and intricate, yet can be whipped up in minutes.
One of my favorite cooking joys is seeing the satisfaction on people’s faces when they dig into something I’ve made, usually accompanied afterward by the question, in a tone of shock and disbelief, “How’d you make that?” While I’ve made my fair share of advanced recipes and have spent consecutive days in the kitchen, 90% of the dishes I create are easy enough for a novice home cook to make, and most often include ingredients that can be obtained with one trip to the neighborhood grocery store. The assumption that a recipe I’ve made is elaborate and complex is extremely flattering, but also a point I use in my argument for common rebuttals like, “I don’t know how to cook,” “I couldn’t find my way around a kitchen,” or “I can’t even boil water!” I stress: anyone can cook!
Risotto is my reliable “fancy” recipe, and is something that requires very little skills to make, but demands patience.
Mushroom Risotto
Inspired by Ina Garten
¼ pound fresh cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
¼ pound fresh shitake mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
4 cups chicken broth
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 shallots, chopped
1 cups Arborio rice
1/3 cup dry white wine
¼ teaspoon saffron threads
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
Fresh chopped parsley
In a small saucepan, heat the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. In a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and sauté the shallots over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté for another 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat with butter. Add the wine and cook for 2 minutes. Add 2 full ladles of the chicken stock mixture to the rice plus the saffron, salt, and pepper. Stir and simmer over low heat until the stock is absorbed, 5 to 10 minutes. Continue to add the stock mixture, 2 ladles at a time, stirring every few minutes. Each time, cook until the mixture seems a little dry before adding more of the stock mixture. Continue until the rice is al dente, about 25 to 30 minutes total. Remove from heat, stir in the Parmesan cheese. Serve hot in bowls, topped with fresh parsley and extra cheese.
Risotto, for me, is the perfect combination of impressiveness and deliciousness. It’s incredibly basic, and the rice-like pasta serves as a canvas for an endless combination of other ingredients, and it tends to absorb the flavor of whatever it’s cooked with. In this case, the deep mushroom flavor saturates the creamy, starchy grains, making a strong case for the meatless aspect of this recipe. The white wine adds a hint of floral sweetness, and the strong flavor of alcohol cooks out in the very beginning; though, you could use chicken broth in its place. Consider saffron the investment ingredient of the dish – it tends to be on the pricy side but is typically used in moderation, as a little goes a long way. It adds just a hint of an early flavor that complements the starring mushrooms wonderfully. A handful of cheese at the end not only seasons the dish, but thickens it up, and a sprinkle of fresh parsley adds color and freshness.
Nobody should feel like they “can’t cook,” especially since it doesn’t take fancy ingredients, expensive tools or professional training to make a tasty dinner. My advice is, “don’t be afraid to fail;” sometimes the best dishes come from substituting an ingredient or even adding too much of something. This mushroom risotto is a great way for any home cook to not only impress their friends and loved ones, but also themselves.
