Mushroom and Asparagus Brown Rice Risotto

Risotto is one of those things that most people order in a restaurant and never dare to make in their own kitchen.  I say nay.  Risotto is actually super easy and just requires a little time.


My risotto is a brown rice risotto.  I know, as if it weren't scary enough just to make regular risotto.  Trust me, it'll be okay.  In fact, it will be delicious.


Substituting brown rice for the normal arborio rice gives a wonderful, nutty flavor and in my opinion a better texture.  Here's the the thing, though: it's gonna take a while.


The most important thing with making brown rice risotto is to MAKE SURE YOU BUY SHORT GRAIN BROWN RICE.  I cannot stress this enough.  If you use a long grain rice, your risotto will not stick.  The short grain rice has more amylopectin (a branched chain of glucose--the more surface area means it breaks down faster into glucose, giving you that starchy, sticky texture in your risotto).  Do not attempt to make this recipe if you have any other type of brown rice in your hand (put it down.  Seriously.  Go to the grocery store.  You can thank me later).


Now, as I made this risotto, I realized it would have cut down my cooking time quite a bit if I had soaked the rice previously, but I forgot.  It might take a relatively short amount of time to cook this dish if they are previously soaked--I'm not sure because I didn't try it, but it will definitely speed up the process a bit.  It's also much healthier to do this.  Whole grains have compounds called phytates in their bran that interfere with the absorption of minerals like iron, calcium, and zinc in our bodies.  By soaking the brown rice (overnight if possible), we deactivate these compounds so that we can absorb these essential minerals.


Another note before we start:  I like a risotto with a lot of vegetables in it, but risotto typically is mostly rice.  My recipe calls for more vegetables, but feel free to decrease them if you like a more traditional risotto.


To make my Mushroom and Asparagus Brown Rice Risotto, you will need:


32 oz chicken broth (if you make your own, it'll be even better!) It's a good idea to have more on hand in case your rice is being temperamental and needs more liquid.  Stupidly, I did not do this and ended up using an extra cup of water (still tasted great though!)


1 cup dry white wine


2 tbs butter


1 yellow onion, chopped


2 cups soaked brown rice


1 package baby bella mushrooms (I don't remember how big the package was but it had about 10-12 mushrooms), coarsely chopped


6 stalks asparagus (I may have used even more, so feel free to add some)


Parmesan cheese, about 3/4 cup grated


A sprinkle of lemon zest


A sprinkle of nutmeg




Alright!  Let's begin!


So first, take a small pot and pour your chicken broth and wine into it.  We want this to come to a simmer, but never to a boil.  Keep it covered so you don't lose any precious broth through evaporation.


Prep your mushrooms and asparagus and place them in a large pan.  We will cook these in a bit.


Melt the butter in a large pot or dutch oven (dutch oven is best if you have it.  I'm a poor college student and don't have one... Mom? ...Dad? ...are you reading this?)


Place onion in the pot with a pinch of salt.  The salt will help draw the water out of the onion to sweat them faster.   Saute over medium heat until translucent.


Add the rice.  Stir until the edges of the rice are translucent.


Ladle enough broth to cover the rice.  Reduce the heat to low, and start stirring the rice/broth mixture (get used to stirring--you'll pretty much be doing it exclusively from now on).  Here's a picture of my rice/onion/broth mixture (these pictures won't be great because I took them with my phone).

Stir this mixture often until all the liquid is absorbed.  At all times there should just be a few bubbles visible in the liquid--any higher heat than that and it won't turn out right.  Once absorbed, add another ladle of broth.  Once absorbed, add another.  Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat a million times.


As this is happening, you can cook your mushrooms and asparagus.  Do this when you are getting close to running out of broth so they are freshly cooked.  Add some olive oil to the pan and saute.  Let them be a little undercooked because you will add them to the risotto and they will cook further there.  Here's how much vegetables I used so you can get an idea since my measurements are imprecise (this one's pretty blurry...sorry).

Once you have about one ladle of broth left to add, put in the mushrooms and asparagus.  Add the last ladle, and let it absorb.


Taste it!  If the rice isn't soft enough, add more broth or water and absorb until the texture is soft and the rice sticks together.  You will be able to tell when it's done.


Once the texture is to your liking, add a pinch of lemon zest, a pinch of nutmeg, and the parmesan cheese.  Stir it up, and taste.  Add more zest, nutmeg, and cheese to your taste.


Your beautiful risotto is done!


This was my second time making this risotto, and I liked it even more this time.  The key is getting the right proportions of nutmeg, zest, and cheese at the end.  Mess that up and it can taste a little off.  Make sure you add little bits at a time and taste after each addition.  My previous attempt had a little too much lemon and tasted too acidic to me.  This time, I think I got the perfect ratio of ingredients and it tasted awesome.  This is a rich dish with many layers of flavor, so savor it!




Happy Eating,


KS