I don’t why but risotto is comfort food for me. But it feels like it takes forever to cook the rice. With patience, you’ll end up with a delicious dinner for two. I usually make a pumpkin version but I only had mushrooms in the fridge. It really doesn’t use that many ingredients. You can add more ingredients to enrich the flavor. I would normally add some heavy cream to give it a creamier texture. 

If you’re looking to make it vegetarian, just swap out the chicken stock for vegetable stock. If you’re vegan, swap out for some vegan cheese. 

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 400g Mushrooms, sliced
• ¾ cup Arborio Rice
• 3 cups Chicken Stock
• 3 medium-sized Shallots, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
• Freshly grounded Black Pepper
• ¼ tsp Salt
• ¼ cup Parmesan Cheese

1. Heat the chicken stock to a gentle simmer in a saucepan. 
2. In a skillet over medium-high heat, heat ½ tbsp of olive oil and add the mushrooms. Saute the mushrooms and season it with salt and black pepper. Be sure to not overcrowd your skillet with mushrooms. Do it in batches to ensure even cooking of the mushrooms.
3. Remove the mushrooms when you get a nice brown. In the same skillet, heat another 1 tbsp olive oil and saute the shallots for a minute or so. 
4. Next, toast the arborio rice for 5 minutes or till it turns golden. Toasting the rice will prevent it from being mushy later on. 
5. When your rice is golden, add ½ cup of the chicken broth. Be sure to consistently stir to allow the rice to cook evenly. When the rice has absorbed the liquid, reduce the heat to medium. 
6. Add ¼ cup of broth each time the rice absorbs all the liquid and constantly stir the rice. Continue to do this step until all the chicken broth is used up. 
7. When the rice is fully cooked, remove the skillet from the heat. Stir in the butter, parmesan cheese, and mushrooms. You’re ready to serve!