Herby 'Shrooms

This is a relatively versatile recipe for leek and mushroom risotto. Contrary to popular belief, risotto is not difficult to make at all. You just need to be on it the whole time it's cooking; it's not a "set it and forget it" kind of meal. Eh, Showtime Rotisserie people?? My parents swear by theirs.

Anyhoo, what makes this versatile is that you can use any combination of herbs to marinate the mushrooms, the taste of which will come through strongly in your end dish. Go to town with your favorite herbs! I used rosemary, thyme, and some basil. Careful with the lemon zest - the recipe calls for the zest of one lemon, but my lemon was ginormous so I didn't use all of it and the flavor was still a little intense for us. Tasty all the same!

Leek Risotto with Herb-Marinated Mushrooms and Parmesan

adapted from Luculian Delights

500g/17.64 oz arborio rice

the green part of a large leek

15-20 mushrooms (I used one container of creminis)

4 filled tsp of fresh herbs, finely chopped

1 lemon

1/2 - 1 cup Parmesan or other Italian cheese, grated

about 8 cups chicken broth (or vegetable if vegetarian)

olive oil

Slice the mushrooms and fry in a little olive oil until golden (about 8 minutes). Place in a bowl then add herbs, the zest of the lemon (careful!), and a squeeze of lemon juice. Salt and stir; allow to marinate while the risotto cooks.

Put a pot on with the chicken broth; bring to a light simmer and keep warm.

Finely slice the leek and cook in a large skillet in olive oil over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the rice and sautee for a couple minutes until grains are coated in oil.

Marinating mushrooms above the just-added risotto (pre-broth)

Add 2-3 ladles of broth and cook, stirring, until absorbed. Keep adding broth, ladle by ladle, allowing it to absorb each time before adding more, until the risotto is creamy and cooked through (not crunchy). This should take about 20 minutes and almost all the broth. You need to keep stirring pretty much the whole time.

When the risotto is done, add the cheese to taste and stir in the mushroom mix. Serve with toasted bread!