Mushroom risotto.

I found a large bag of mushrooms on sale when we were grocery shopping (the kind you see on the shelves full of things that they want to get rid of fast, with 50% off the price) and that gave me the basis for 2 great dishes for the week. Risotto and stew. 

I don't think that there is necessarily a wrong way to make risotto. You may want to follow a recipe the first time to make it but after that, so long as your rice has absorbed enough liquid to be the right texture then the rest is up to what you feel like eating, what you have to get rid of or what is in the cupboards. A lot of recipes will call for several different fresh herbs, this can be expensive, I often just use what I have in dry form in the cupboard that goes with what I am cooking at the time. I also don't think you can over or under do the amount of vegetables etc that you flavour it with, or, that it particularly matters at what stage you put them in. I guess with something like asparagus you would put it in at the end so it doesn't turn to mush, but with this mushroom version I cooked the mushrooms with the onions and then added the rice to the mix and made the risotto with the mushrooms already in it and they didn't disintegrate. A few months ago I felt like eating risotto and I had some zucchini in the fridge, and so that was what I used and there was no recipe, just what I had available and it turned into one of my favourite risottos! Some people like more 'bite' to their rice, others like it soft, make it however you like it to eat it. You may see recipes calling for wine too, if you have some available by all means add some white wine, it's great, but I rarely use it and haven't missed it. You will also see recipes calling for lots of grated parmesan cheese, this is also great, but the dish can be just as nice without it if you are trying to reduce the fat content, or just sprinkle a little on top of your serving as you eat it. 

I have had a couple of great experiences concerning mushroom risotto with my neighbour, Krista. Once we made risotto out of a puff ball mushroom her Dad had picked in the woods near their house, it was divine! The cubes of puff ball were like little pieces of marshmallow in it. (We did use white wine and lots of parmesan cheese that time!) I do admit I went and flicked through our Survival Guide book for a quick reference on the puff ball having never seen one before - it was bigger than my head! Another time, Krista gave me a sample of their dinner which was beef ribs with mushroom risotto. She had used a black risotto rice which was wonderfully appealing on the eye and a great new version on a classic. 

Anyway, back to the risotto in the image. I made it with plain button mushrooms sliced, an onion finely chopped, garlic and home made turkey stock. I ran out of that stock and used some store bought stuff too, I keep a couple cartons handy most of the time.  I used dry Sage and Savoury, a couple of Bay leaves and some Truffle salt and pepper for seasoning, and a dash of Worcestershire sauce too. I added a small amount of parmesan at the end. Heaven! I made a double batch too, so it will be in the fridge to have on other occasions with other things such as stew (which is going to use up the rest of the mushrooms!).