Some dishes are so comforting and such a staple of our lives that we practically make them without thinking. Ina Garten wants to challenge that habit with one classic Italian dish — and the way she is “turning up the volume” of flavor on this recipe will give you a whole new appreciation for it!
The Barefoot Contessa shared a recipe for Wild Mushroom Risotto in a new Food Network YouTube video. “I’m going to turn up the volume,” Garten explains in the video. Then she reveals her big trick to dial up this recipe: “Instead of just using chicken stock, I’m using white wine. It gives it gives it a really nice edge.” Um, yum! That sounds absolutely delicious, and now we are so excited to try this recipe ourselves.
In the recipe, Garten uses two different kinds of mushrooms: dried morel and fresh porcini or cremini, which have “really intense flavor.” She boils the dried mushrooms and strains and chops them, then rubs off dirt from the porcini mushrooms and chops them. From there, she sets the mushrooms aside and works on the risotto, which is a creamy Italian rice dish.
Garten sautées onions, pancetta, and other ingredients to a saucepan. She adds the mushrooms and then arborio rice, which has “the starchiness that you need.” Now for the special ingredient: white wine! She recommends choosing something to cook with that you also want to drink — our kind of girl! Garten adds more ingredients to the pan, stirring it all together as it continues to cook. Every few minutes, add more liquid for the rice to soak up. “The key is that it’s really creamy,” she adds. Garten tops it with cheese, then serves it in a bowl.
“The wine makes all the difference in the world,” Garten praises after taking a bite. It looks so steamy and good, we can’t wait to try it!
Fans were excited to make this recipe too. “Thanks for sharing yum!” one person wrote. Another said that they “Love making this!” “Those morel mushrooms make my mouth water… growing up in Ohio meant mushroom hunting in grandpa’s woods in the spring,” someone else commented.
If you want to switch up your risotto even more, you can try Garten’s Saffron Risotto with Butternut Squash recipe in the fall, which calls for the sweet autumn squash, spicy saffron, and creamy cheese. You’ll never want to make risotto the traditional way again!
Get the full Wild Mushroom Risotto recipe HERE.
Before you go, check out Garten’s best dinner recipes below:
