Wild Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2005

Show: Good EatsEpisode: Do The Rice Thing

Rated: 4 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (53)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(53)

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Ingredients

6 cups chicken broth
1 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup finely chopped onion
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups Arborio rice
5 ounces wild mushrooms, cooked and coarsely chopped, approximately 3/4 cup
7 ounces asparagus, cooked and cut into 1-inch pieces, approximately 1 1/2 cups
2 ounces grated Parmesan, approximately 1/2 cup
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Directions

In an electric kettle or medium saucepan with a lid, combine chicken broth and white wine and heat just to simmering. Keep warm.

In a large 3 to 4-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and sweat until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until the grains are translucent around the edges. Be careful not to allow the grains or the onions to brown.

Reduce the heat to low. Add enough of the wine and chicken stock just to cover the top of the rice. Stir or move the pan often, until the liquid is completely absorbed into rice. Once absorbed, add another amount of liquid just to cover the rice and continue stirring or moving as before. There should be just enough liquid left to repeat 1 more time. It should take approximately 35 to 40 minutes for all of the liquid to be absorbed. After the last addition of liquid has been mostly absorbed, add the mushrooms and asparagus and stir until risotto is creamy and asparagus is heated through. Remove from the heat and stir in the Parmesan, lemon zest, and nutmeg. Taste and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

*Cook's Note: If fresh wild mushrooms are not available, reconstituted dried mushrooms can be used instead. Place 2 ounces of dried mushrooms into a bowl and cover with warm water. Allow to sit for about 30 minutes or until all the mushrooms are soft and pliable.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Wild Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto
Robin Thousand Oaks, CA 02-04-2010
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Takes longer than you think it will, but it's worth it!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I was thinking this wasn't going to take longer than 45 minutes, ended up being more like an hour and a half to get it all... together. But...OMG. The flavor was amazing!! I used vegetable broth and no wine to accomodate my dads diet(and he didn't care for it) but both my mom and I thought it was wonderful!! The creamy texture is worth the time!! Oh, and as a side note, if it starts to look hard at one point, just add water and let that soak in before continuing with the broth, to give it more moisture. You are going to have some hard bits in there, it's a given, but it's so good you just munch away!!Read more
recipe Wild Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto
michelle toronto, ON 01-17-2010
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simple and straightforward
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

i made this at my friend's house for potluck dinner, prepped the mushrooms and asparagus at home. followed the recipe to the... letter, except for the wine, i ran out so went with rose. it came out very well! my friends are asking me for the recipe. it's straightforward, just needs a lot of stirring. a good quality, thick bottom pot will do the trick to playing with the heat; some reviews were talking about the liquid evaporating too fast or taking too long. that may be why. another great one, AB! Read more
recipe Wild Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto
dave Elk Grove Village , IL 12-23-2009
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Easy and Excellent...with a little practice
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I too watched the episode first and Alton makes everything look easy. I did a practice run before a dinner party. For the... practice run, I followed the recipe to the letter and wound up with hard rice and not great flavor. I learned my lesson, lowered my cook temperature (if you cook it at to high a temperature too much of the liquid will evaporate and not soak into the rice), added about a cup more chicken stock towards the end, and actually ended up covering the pot for the last 10-15 min of cooking. The rice was cooked perfectly doing it that way. I used an Italian 5 cheese blend instead of parmesan and that added to the flavor and creaminess. Everyone raved over the flavor, it was a major crowd pleaser.Read more
recipe Wild Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto
Mika San Marcos, CA 12-14-2009
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Yummy and Easy!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

This is the first time I have made risotto, and wow - it was so easy! I watched the episode "do the rice thing" first, which... was helpful in knowing when to add the broth. I know I can always count on an Alton Brown recipe. :) I used approximately 8 cups of broth (omitted the wine) total, and it took roughly 45 minutes. I didn't have an electric kettle, so I just set the broth to a low simmer on the burner next to the cooking risotto. I didn't measure the lemon zest - just added the zest of one entire lemon, which I thought added a very nice depth of flavor, but wasn't "lemoney" at all. I think that the people who posted it taking 1 1/2 hours to cook... the burner may be set too low. Remember that the "low" setting on various stove tops is not a standard "low" setting - it's different depending on what type of stove and what size burner you put it on. Set the burner too high, and your liquid will evaporate too fast, leaving the rice hard and you will need to use extra broth. Set the burner too low, and it will take forever to cook. I cranked up the heat until it was at a very gentle simmer, then backed it off a bit so that very few bubbles rose to the surface.Read more
recipe Wild Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto
mike brick, NJ 12-09-2009
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Not a keeper
Rated: 1 stars out of 5

I am usually a fan of everything AB makes but this recipe was horrible. The Arborio was still hard after an hour and all the... liquid the recipe called for was gone. I kept my liquid a simmer the entire time and still the rice was hard. After it was finally done it had an overly sweet taste. After seeing how he made red sauce and meatball I should have known this wouldn?t be good. ?He is no MarioRead more
recipe Wild Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto
Gloria Henderson, NV 12-02-2009
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GREAT BUT TOO MUCH NUTMEG
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

I've been making risotto for over 40 years in so many ways I can't begin to tell you. I've NEVER cooked risotto longer than... 30 minutes so if it's taking you longer, you either have the heat too low or your liquid is not hot enough. This recipe is excellent since lemon and asparagus are a natural combination but I have to agree that 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg is waaaaayyyy too much. I use nutmeg often in sauces such as bechamel, alfredo and scalloped potato sauce. The nutmeg is there to draw out and intensify the original flavors and give the dish a more complex depth of flavor. It should never be tasted. If you can taste the nutmeg, you are using too much. I can't understand why Alton used so much in this recipe. I used 4 or 5 scrapings, hardly 1/8 tsp. and it was plenty. No mutmeg taste but the flavor of the dish was excellent. BY THE WAY, RISOTTO DOES NOT REHEAT WELL SO DON'T BE DISAPPOINTED IF IT DOESN'T TURN OUT.Read more