Mushroom and Pea Risotto

This Mushroom and Pea Risotto is an easy one-pan recipe. It's creamy and hearty and makes for the perfect weeknight family dinner

This Mushroom and Pea Risotto is one of those dishes I'll never get sick of. It's really creamy, cozy, and always hits the spot! It's also vegetarian too! 

Risotto has a reputation for being hard and complicated to cook, but I'm going to show you how easy it is to make!  Being a one pan dish, it means super quick clean up so it's great for a weeknight meal too.

My all time favourite risotto recipe has always been a mushroom risotto. The creaminess of mushrooms just works so well and makes the perfect vegetable to hero in this dish. So here I’ve made a mushroom risotto with peas for little pops of sweetness. You can also add spinach, asparagus, or even kale instead which will all work great too. 

If you’re looking at making it a vegan risotto, have no fear as it's a super simple substitute! Just swap out the parmigiano reggiano cheese for a plant-based parmesan cheese or even nutritional yeast for the cheesy flavour.

Table of Contents

• What is Risotto?
• Ingredients and Substitutions
• How to make Mushroom and Pea Risotto
• Tips and Tricks
• FAQs
• More Italian Recipes
• Recipe
• Comments

What is Risotto?

Risotto is an Italian rice dish, where the rice is cooked slowly with broth. Its made with a specific short grain rice called arborio rice which is quite starchy and becomes a lovely creamy consistency once cooked

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Mushrooms, well of course are needed to make this dish. Here I've used brown mushrooms, also known as swiss brown mushrooms or cremini mushrooms, and my favourite name is “baby bella’s” as they are like mini portobello mushrooms. They have a super creamy texture and much more of an umami flavour compared to white button mushrooms
• Arborio rice is the specific short grain rice you need to use when making risotto. It's sometimes actually labeled as risotto rice or carnaroli and has a high starch content compared to regular rice
• Leek is sauteed bringing a lovely subtle sweetness to the dish. You can of course use an onion instead or even shallots would be great
• Garlic, because well….no need for an explanation 😊
• Dry white wine is added when you are toasting the rice for sweet acidity. It can be any dry white wine such as pinot grigio or a sauvignon blanc. The alcohol content is cooked off, however, if you prefer to keep it alcohol free, add a good squeeze of lemon juice instead and continue to the next step of adding the stock
• Vegetable broth is my preferred stock to keep it vegetarian. You can of course use chicken broth too
• Green peas, you can use fresh but I always use frozen peas. I try to find sweet green peas for more flavour. You can also use spinach, kale, or even asparagus. I‘ve made it with all 3 substitutes and love them all
• Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (parmesan cheese) is added at the end to make it ultra creamy. Fresh is always best! Finely grate the cheese to avoid it clumping. You can also use pecorino romano as a substitute 
• Garnish, I love to add red pepper flakes upon serving. Fresh herbs such as thyme or fresh parsley would look and taste great too
• Extra virgin olive oil is always my preferred oil to cook with. A lot of recipes call for butter, but I’m an olive oil girl with all my cooking. Feel free to add butter if you like 

How to make Mushroom and Pea Risotto

Here are the simple steps to make this creamy bowl of comfort.

1. Saute sliced mushrooms over high heat until browned. Then remove from the pan and set aside
2. Add leek and garlic and saute for a few minutes
3. Change to medium heat, add arborio rice and toast for a few minutes, then pour in some white wine
4. When the wine is almost evaporated, commence adding one ladle of vegetable stock at a time and stir it through until the liquid has been absorbed. Repeat this process until you’re close to the end of the stock (approx 15 minutes)
5. In the end, the risotto should be al dente and creamy like in the photo. If it's still crunchy or uncooked, you may need 1-2 more cups of stock
6. Add parmesan cheese and stir through with a ladle of stock
7. Add peas and stir through
8. Finally, finish off by adding the mushrooms back in. Stir through and it's ready to serve with some additional parmesan cheese and chili if you like it spicy

Tips and Tricks

1. When sauteing the mushrooms, cook on high heat, and don't add salt until they’re almost fully cooked. This will ensure they don't become watery. Here are more tips on sauteing mushrooms
2. Ensure your vegetable broth is heated before adding it to the risotto. If you use cold stock, this will cool down the risotto and will increase your cooking time 
3. Add one ladle of vegetable stock at a time. If you add too much in, this will make a mushy risotto. Slowly stir and add more once most of the liquid has been absorbed
4. Keep tasting the rice as you're cooking it. Different brands of rice and stove strengths can alter the amount of stock and cooking time. If it's still crunchy or raw, it will need more stock. Once its al dente, it's nearly done

FAQs

More Italian Recipes

• Lemon Garlic Pasta (Pasta Al Limone)
• No Knead Focaccia
• Homemade Gnocchetti Pasta (Malloreddus)
• Pasta e Fagioli
• Tiramisu Cups

I love seeing your creations and remakes, so be sure to rate the recipe, comment and share your Mushroom and Pea Risotto photo on Instagram so I can share the love!

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