Mushroom and Pea Risotto

(makes about 4 servings)

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup baby bella mushrooms, roughly chopped into 1/4” pieces
• 1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
• 3 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup sweet peas

Directions:

1. Sautee the onion and mushrooms in oil and butter in a large skillet or small wok on medium heat.
2. Add rice, and cook until edges are translucent. Stir in 1/2 cup chicken broth and cook for an additional 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until broth is absorbed.
3. Stir in broth, 1 cup at a time, cooking for 5-8 minutes between additions until the broth is mostly absorbed. Stir frequently throughout the process. This is the tricky part - the heat, stirring, and rate of liquid addition need to be balanced well for the dish to result in the proper risotto texture. Luckily, even if it’s a bit wrong, it’s not too far off.
4. Stir in the cheese and peas at the end. If using frozen peas, you’ll want to start the peas in the microwave around the time of the last liquid addition to the skillet.

This recipe can be tricky to get the perfect texture out of - sometimes I’m very successful, sometimes I’m less successful. As I mentioned though, even if it’s wrong, it’s not too far off, and is certainly still a tasty meal. Instead of mushrooms, shrimp can be stirred in at the end for shrimp and pea risotto. This was adapted from the Betty Crocker Cookbook.