Marvelous Mushroom Risotto

Good evening!

Tonight, I made a recipe called "Marvelous Mushroom Risotto" from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. 

The recipe starts off just like any other risotto-style dish:  heat a good amount of stock or broth (in this case, about 7 cups of vegetable stock - I used broth) and keep it warm while you prepare the rest of the dish. 

Like a lot of risotto's, you saute some onion in some olive oil.  I skip this step and only sauteed the mushrooms and garlic until golden brown.  I have skipped the onion/shallot part in risotto's before, and I have never had an issue.  You can pretty much use any mushroom that you want; you just need three cups of sliced mushrooms.  In this recipe, I used baby bellas.

Then you add in some thyme, parsley and chopped sun-dried tomatoes.  I used dried thyme, and I didn't use the pasley.  I am not a huge fan of that herb. 

After that, you add in some truffle oil.  This is an ingredient that is usually sold as truffle-infused olive oil, and it can get pretty pricey.  I didn't have any on hand; I didn't buy any, so I left it out. 

Next, you add the arborio rice and stir, then the dry white wine and stir to soak up the liquid.  The alcohol will evaporate, so there is no need to worry about getting drunk off this recipe.  :)

Then comes the time for the babysitting.  You add stock/broth ladle by ladle and stir and stir until almost all of the liquid is absorbed, then you add some more.  You cannot walk away and do something else thinking it'll be OK to be absent for just a second.  No, no, no.  You have to have patience with a risotto-style dish, and it needs love and care. 

You keep adding the broth until it is at that perfect creamy consistency.  It usually takes about 20 minutes, give or take a few minutes.  You will be happy with the results.