Despite the move, I managed to pull together a lovely SRC dish from an Italian Cooking in the Midwest. Pola has a number of intriguing recipes, and while I was tempted by several of her quiches, I couldn’t resist making risotto. Risotto is wonderful, if you’ve never had it, and I consider well worth the time and effort.
The mushroom risotto I choose was fairly straightforward. Pola provides flexible guidelines for amounts, so remember there’s some flexibility if you make it. I added thyme instead of parsley, veg broth instead of beef, leftover hard cider instead of wine (I did think we had wine, though, so that was a spur of the moment substitution), and ended up throwing in some extra peas we had floating around. The two stage method (cook covered, without stirring, followed by finishing it off with stirring) comes from a recipe my grandmother uses for shrimp risotto, and I’ve generally found it works well in other recipes although it may take a little longer. That non-stirring time lets you pull together a salad, dessert, or simply feed the dog and empty/refill the dishwasher, though, so I appreciate it.
Conclusion: It was delicious, and I’m looking forwarding to making it again. In fact, mushrooms are on the grocery list just so I can make some this week again.
These amounts made 3-4 servings as a main course.
1 small onion, diced
2-3 T olive oil
1/2 t thyme
1 c Arborio rice
2 c broth, HOT
1 c water, HOT
3/4 c hard cider
1 lb mushrooms, cut into chunks
Pecorino romano or parmesan, grated, to taste
1 c peas
Saute the onion in the olive oil until translucent. Add the mushrooms and thyme, and sauté for 5-10 minutes or until beginning to be tender. Add the rice and hard cider. Cook, stirring often, until the rice has absorbed the cider. Add 1 1/2 c broth, stir briefly, and cover. Simmer for 15 minutes, or just until the liquid has been absorbed. Continue adding hot liquid until the rice is cooked. Stir in the peas, cooked for a couple of minutes, and serve with cheese.
To see what other bloggers made for July, click on the blue frog below.
Sustainable Cooking for One 
Ooohh, what a gourmet treat this would be.
I love, love, love mushroom risotto! Great choice!
I saw the hard cider and wondered if this gave it a sweet and sour kind of taste. In Italian food, that’s called agricolce.
Not especially– I tend to buy a very dry cider much of the time, so it’s closer to a dry champagne or white wine than, say, Woodchuck might be. A sweet one might be good, too, though.
LOVE Risotto – and mushrooms are easily my go-to-ingredient. Great SRC pick 🙂
Absolutely LOVE risotto! This looks delicious.
I adore risotto and mushrooms are a favorite ingredient of mine so I know that I would absolutely LOVE this!! Great recipe!
Mushroom risottos are my favorite. Yours is simply gorgeous. I have never heard of the two stage method for making it; I’ll have to try it that way next time.
This is one of my favorite risottos, it looks wonderful. Got to make some soon!