Broccoli mushroom risotto

When it gets cold and gross outside I always crave risotto. It just seems like such a good idea. Warm gooey rice with lots of fat and tasty ingredients mixed in. Then I spend 30+ minutes stirring the damn thing and I remember why it’s been so long since I made it. For a one pot meal on a weeknight it always takes too damn long. It usually turns out really good, but I’m so annoyed by the time I finally sit down that I don’t enjoy it much. Anyhow, the mashup tonight was tasty.

Tonight’s takes:

Husband: “Yummy.”

Helen (5 1/2 years old): “Good. Too salty though.”

Hector (3 years old): “I DIDN’T WANT THIS FOR DINNER! ” 😡 Throws fork. Pushes over milk… 10 minute tantrum/time-out cycle… “It’s not yummy, it’s yucky!” Eats half his plate… “Dinner was pretty good, mama.” Oh lordy, how toddlers move from full-on-rage to happy-go-lucky in a span of 15 minutes bewilders me. My anxiety hormones are still going.

What I used:

• 1 small onion

• 3 garlic cloves

• 8 brown button mushrooms

• 1 package (1.25lbs) gai lan (Chinese broccoli)

• 2 cups Arborio rice

• 8 cups beef stock - I made it half as strong as the package instructs

• ~1/2 cup white aperitif wine

• ~1/4 cup white wine vinegar

• ~1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

• ~2 tbsp butter

• Olive oil

• Salt

What I did:

Washed and diced mushrooms into eighths.

Tossed mushrooms with olive oil and salt on a sheet pan. Roasted at 425°F.

Washed gai lan. Removed yellow leaves and cut off ends. Separated leaves from stems. Diced stems. Sliced leaves.

Added stems to stock (8 cups water and 4 tsps bouillon). Brought to a boil.

Diced onion and garlic.

Sautéed onion and garlic with good amount of olive oil and butter in Dutch oven. Had heat on medium-low - didn’t want any colour on the onions.

Sautéed until just translucent.

Added Arborio rice to onions and garlic. Sautéed on medium-low heat.

Turned attention back to gai lan. Stems were tender by now (~5 minutes of boiling), added leaves. Boiled until wilted (less than a minute). Removed all veg from broth. Held broth at barely a simmer on low heat.

Sauteed Arborio until rice was coated in fat and just turning translucent (about 3-4 minutes). Deglazed pan with white wine vinegar and white wine. Because all I had was the aperitif wine (which is really sweet) I used vinegar as well. I wanted a bit of tang in the final dish. Simmered until liquid was absorbed.

Started adding stock 1 ladle at a time. Stirred rice pretty constantly between each ladle of stock. Waited for all of the liquid to be absorbed before adding the next ladle full.

About half way through adding stock, mushrooms were done. They roasted for ~20-25 minutes. Added them to the risotto.

Continued to add stock. Stock + stirring took about ~30-35 minutes. When I added the last ladle of stock, the rice was on the edge of al dente (a few kernels were still a bit crunchy). I wanted it to be done though, so I removed it from the heat once the liquid was mostly absorbed.

Added the gai lan and parmesan, stirring to combine. Put the lid on. Let it sit for 5 minutes.

Served!

Next time

It was way too salty. I salted the mushrooms and used salted butter, and the stock was really salty. Next time, I’d make sure not to add any extra salt. It was also on the edge of al dente - it could have used another 5 minutes of stock + stirring, but I was fed up 🤷‍♀️.

Overall, it was pretty tasty and it looked good with the greens and the mushrooms. But holy hell it took a long time (as always). I’ll make this on the weekend next time.

😋😋

-Ellisa