Controversial but true- I rinsed the arborio rice for this recipe. The word on the street says not to rinse the rice, however, when I follow that rule it ends up too mushy and too starchy. Thats why I tried my recipe rinsing the rice and – perfect. I’ve always been a rebel.

Serves 2. Time: prep 15 minutes, cook 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup arborio rice
• 3 tsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup onion, minced
• 1 tbsp shallot, minced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup mushrooms, (combo of crimini and white)
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 3 cups broth (vegetable broth simmered with 3 sprigs of thyme, 1 sprig of rosemary, 2 tbsp peppercorns, 2 bayleaves, 2 smashed garlic cloves)
• 1/4-1/3 cup parmesan
• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
• drizzle truffle oil

Method

• Heat broth and garlic/herbs/peppercorns, keep simmering on back burner.
• Rinse rice using colander
• Heat sauté pan over medium heat. Add olive oil and 1 tbsp butter. Once heated up, add mushrooms and sauté for ~5 minutes. Add onion, shallot and garlic- cook to flavor mushrooms stirring frequently for ~1-2 minutes.
• Remove mushrooms from pan and put into a small bowl.
• Add wine to deglaze pan.
• Add rice. Let cook and stir gently after 30 seconds. Add a ladle of broth. Try to gently stir to cook rice evenly every 30- 60 seconds. Can also pick up pan and shake to keep rice moving and cooking evenly. Don’t over stir- it ruins it big time. Consider it a process of each little rice grain cooking evenly, absorbing the broth for flavor and stirring every so often to avoid sticking to the bottom of the pan as the liquid absorbs. Stirring too much turns out the consistency of oatmeal mush and not stirring enough- the rice doesn’t cook through and is crunchy. Tastes good but the texture is unappealing.
• Add another ladle of broth, continue to gently stir every 30-60 seconds. Add mushrooms back into the pan. Repeat adding broth once liquid absorbed and stirring until the rice reaches al dente status. It should retain its shape, yet be cooked through. Taste as you go. It should take about 15-20 minutes. If you don’t use all the broth, its ok. Better to have a bit too much rather than avoid running out. Can always use it for something else.
• Now stir in parmesan, butter and 2 tbsp chopped parsley. Remove from heat.
• Scoop into bowls and top with rest of chopped parsley and a drizzle of truffle oil.
• Pairs with Sauvignon Blanc.