This recipe for easy mushroom and pea risotto may not be a classic Italian recipe, but what it lacks in technique, it certainly makes up for in flavour. And it’s ready in less than half an hour!
Easy mushroom and pea risotto
This recipe for mushroom and pea risotto is so easy, it virtually cooks itself. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to stand and stir continuously to make a perfectly cooked risotto. For this recipe, a quick stir at the beginning, and another stir every now and then is all you need.
And what you end up with is a delicious dish of soft and creamy cheese and garlic flavoured rice, packed with lots of juicy mushrooms and little pops of sweetness from the peas. You can eat a big bowlful of this risotto as a warming supper, or even serve it as a side dish alongside your favourite meat.
A word about the ingredients
All you need to make this easy risotto is some arborio or risotto rice. You can get away with using long grain rice, but then you won’t get the creaminess that you get from the high starch content of arborio rice.
You are also going to need some chicken stock and a glass of wine. And as always, the secret to cooking with wine is ‘if you wouldn’t drink it, then don’t put it in the food’. The flavour from a bad wine isn’t going to improve with cooking. On the other hand, if you don’t have any wine to hand, you can leave it out altogether and just use stock.
For the mushrooms you can use any mushrooms that you happen to have in the refrigerator. Button mushrooms, portobello, cremini or chestnuts, it doesn’t really matter. You just need to chop them into smallish pieces. For this recipe I fry the mushrooms separately and then add them to the risotto at the end. I do this because I like the mushrooms to keep a bit of firmness and cooking them with the rice overcooks them and makes them mushy.
The onions should be finely chopped, and the garlic minced, so that their flavour can be nicely absorbed into the rice as it cooked.
Lastly, you will need some grated parmesan cheese to stir through at the end, along with the peas. I use frozen peas for this recipe, and I always try to get petit pois as I find them sweeter. If you are using fresh peas, you should boil them first until they are soft.
Some people like to melt a knob of butter into the risotto once it is cooked, for extra creaminess. I haven’t included that in this recipe because I think the risotto is creamy enough without it.
How to make mushroom and pea risotto
You can get the complete recipe and list of ingredients on the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
This recipe is sufficient for 2 people as a main meal, or 4 people as a side dish.
Prepare the vegetables (images 1 and 2)
Start by chopping the mushrooms and onions into small pieces, then fry the mushrooms in a little olive oil until they are softened. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Fry the onions, garlic and rice (images 3 and 4)
Tip the chopped onions and garlic into the same pan that you used for the mushrooms. You may need to add a little extra olive oil. Fry them gently until the onions become translucent. Keep the heat quite low, you don’t want the onions to turn brown, or the garlic to burn. Once the onions are softened, add the rice and give it a good stir to ensure all the grains are covered with oil. Then add the wine.
Keep adding liquid (image 1)
Stir the wine into the rice, cover the saucepan with a lid and leave for 2 or 3 minutes over a gentle heat until the wine is absorbed into the rice. Keep adding the stock, 1/2 a cup at a time, stir, cover and leave until the stock is absorbed. Repeat until all the stock has been used up. At this point the rice should be soft, but not mushy, and still slightly moist.
Add the rest of the ingredients (image 2)
Add the parmesan cheese and stir over a low heat until the cheese has melted, then add the frozen peas and most of the mushrooms. Leave a few mushrooms aside for garnish. Continue to heat gently until the peas have defrosted and the mushrooms are heated through.
Taste for seasoning, and add salt and finely ground black pepper if required. Serve garnished with the remainder of the mushrooms, and optionally, with a slice of garlic bread.
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Variations and how to serve
For a more substantial meal, add a cup of chopped, cooked ham with the peas and mushrooms.
Mushroom and pea risotto is also delicious served with a slice of garlic bread.
You can also serve this dish as a side with these recipes
Can I freeze mushroom and pea risotto?
Yes, you can freeze this dish. Just pack the cooled rice into a rigid freezer container, label and store in the freezer for up to 6 months.
To use, allow to defrost then transfer to a saucepan and warm gently until piping hot.
You can also store leftovers for up to 3 days in a covered container in the refrigerator.
Convert grams to cups
To help you convert your recipes, I have created a handy Cookery Conversion Calculator which will convert ingredients between grams, ounces, tablespoons, cups and millilitres. I hope you will find it useful.
If you live at a high altitude you may find you need to adjust your baking recipes to compensate for this. You can read about how to do this in this post on baking at high altitudes.
Recipe – Easy mushroom and pea risotto
Easy mushroom and pea risotto
Equipment
- Sharp Knife
- Chopping Board
- Saucepan
Ingredients
- ½ cup (110g) arborio rice
- 7 ounces (175g) mushrooms (button / chestnut / portobello) chopped to approx 1½ cm pieces
- 1 large onion chopped into fine dice
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock (make with a stock cube if necessary)
- ¾ cup frozen peas
- 2 cloves garlic (or use minced garlic from a jar)
- ½ cup (50g) grated parmesan cheese
- 3 tablespoons olive oil for frying the mushrooms and onions
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Chop the mushrooms into approximately 1½ cm pieces. Chop the onion into a fine dice.
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a saucepan and fry the mushrooms gently until softened. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside.
- Add the onions and garlic into the same pan and fry over a low heat until the mushrooms are translucent. Do not allow to brown. You may need to add another tablespoon of oil.
- Add the rice and stir well to ensure all the grains are coated with oil.
- Add the wine and stir well. Cover with a lid, turn the heat down to low and leave for 2 to 3 minutes until the wine is absorbed.
- Add the stock ½ cup at a time, stir, cover and leave to absorb. Repeat until the stock has been used up and the rice is soft, but still moist.
- Stir in the parmesan cheese and allow to melt.
- Add the frozen peas and most of the mushrooms and stir over a low heat until the peas are defrosted and the mushrooms are hot. Reserve some mushrooms for garnish
- Taste for seasoning and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
- Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with the remaining mushrooms.
Notes
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
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