Mushroom and Roasted Red Pepper Risotto

A few weeks ago I was checking out the vegan and vegetarian menu from the Wynn Resorts in Vegas and was inspired to recreate the Wild Mushroom Risotto in my kitchen.

My girls and I have a like hate relationship with mushrooms. I have mentioned before how growing up I hated mushrooms, I know hate is a strong word, but I truly hated mushrooms. As I have aged I have learned to tolerate and dare I say enjoy them in some dishes, but not all dishes. My girls are the same way, in some dishes they do not mind the mushrooms, but other times they do not like a dish because of the mushrooms.

I have never made a risotto before, let alone a mushroom risotto. I have always thought about making a risotto dish because I have heard it turns out creamy and I like creamy dishes.

When I started planning how I was going to recreate this dish I knew a few things that I needed to be mindful of. First off I wanted to make the dish somewhat budget friendly and use easy to find ingredients. So, I decided to use white mushrooms, or as some call them button mushrooms, which are considerable less expensive then wild mushrooms.

I also knew that the color of the mushrooms and risotto would be very similar. So, I decided to add some roasted red peppers, to not only give it some color but add to the flavor of the dish.

The recipe below is my take on the Wynn Resorts Wild Mushroom Risotto and it was a huge hit with almost everyone in the family. My husband, oldest daughter and I loved it. We all thoroughly enjoyed how creamy and delicious it turned out. Unfortunately, my youngest daughter did not like this dish. She decided about a year ago that she "hates" rice, so I knew there was a good chance she would not like it.

There is not doubt that I will be making this dish again and I already have plans to make it the next time we have company.

Mushroom and Roasted Red Pepper Risotto

Ingredients:

• 7 cups low sodium vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cups finely diced yellow onions
• 2 cloves garlic, finely diced
• 16 ounces fresh white mushrooms, diced small
• 1- 12 ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained and diced small
• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Add the vegetable broth to a medium pot and heat over low heat. You want the broth warm, but not boiling.
2. In a large shallow saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter.
3. Add in the onions and sauté until softened, about 5-8 minutes.
4. Add in the diced garlic, diced mushrooms and diced roasted red peppers.
5. Sauté until the mushrooms are tender, about 3-5 minutes.
6. Stir in the rice and let it toast for about 2 minutes, stirring often.
7. Add in 1 cup of warm vegetable broth and stir constantly until all of the liquid has been absorbed, about 2 minutes.
8. Reduce the heat to medium low and add in another 1 cup of warm broth, stirring constantly until all of the liquid has been absorbed.
9. Continue to add in the vegetable broth 1 cup at a time stirring constantly until all of the liquid is absorbed, until the rice is tender and the mixture is creamy.
10. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and season with black pepper.

Enjoy!!!

Notes:
Traditional risotto calls for white wine. I am not a big wine drinker and did not want to buy some just for this recipe, so I used more vegetable broth instead. If you want to use white wine, use 1 cup of it in place of 1 cup of vegetable broth. The white wine will be the first cup of liquid you add to the risotto.

Serves: 8
Calories: 371
Total Fat: 14.5g
   Saturated: 6.9g
   Polyunsaturated: 0.9g
   Monounsaturated: 6g
   Trans: 0g
Cholesterol: 26.4mg
Sodium: 381.3mg
Potassium: 411.2mg
Total Carbs: 50.2g
   Dietary Fiber: 3.7g
   Sugars: 8.8g
Protein: 9.7g
Vitamin A: 19.8%
Vitamin C: 34.1%
Calcium: 15.3%
Iron: 11.3%
*The nutritional information will vary slightly depending on the brands you use.