Demystifying what you thought was a fancy pants meal!: Mushroom Risotto, with Fish in Basil, and Tomato

So this is a two-part recipe, let’s start with the Risotto! This risotto recipe comes from my favorite Italian lady, Mrs. Lidia Bastianich. The fish takes minutes quite literally so if this is the first time you’ve ever tried making risotto I’d say focus on that until you get the process down before trying to get ambitious by juggling; it will still be hot if its waiting to be eaten while the fish cooks. Here’s what you need for both recipes; Recipe #2 ingredients for the fish are in red.

3 to 4 QT Heavy Saucepan, “at least 10 inches wide to allow for evaporation”

Small Sauce Pan

5 to 7 cups Water, Turkey, Chicken, or Veggie Broth
¼ cup EVOO
10 oz or more Onion, Leeks, Shallots, or Scallion (Can be mixed! I would say more is better!)
1 tsp Salt
2 cups Arborio or Carnaroli (Short Grained Italian) Rice
1 cup White Wine
1 small pack mushroom of your choosing, ie button or cremini, etc.

4 to 6 filets white fish like Tilapia

20 or more Grape tomatoes halfed

¼ cup or more basil chiffonade (roll it up, slice it thin on an angle, making “strings”)

Juice of 1 large Lemon

EVOO, Salt, and Pepper to taste

Finishing:

2 tbsp EVOO or butter
½ to 1 ½ cups fresh grated Parmagiano-Reggiano or Gana Padano

Black Pepper to taste

After having done this I’d have to say that it’s really not as hard as people make it out to be, the key to Risotto is the same as any other good meal… when you are cooking, you must have patience, and never leave cooking food unattended. There is lots of stirring in this recipe but if you time it, it will go by in a Cinch! Start by putting your 7 cups water, or stock into a pan and bring it to a boil. In the meantime you can chop up your veggies; all your variations of onions and mushrooms, along with the tomato and fresh basil for the fish to set aside. (At this point while waiting for my water to boil I took a small sauce pan and sautéed my sliced mushrooms in a little butter, then set them aside.)

Your pot of liquid must be really hot during the entire process so make sure that it comes to a boil. Still you don’t want to boil any liquid off so to make sure you have enough liquid you need to maybe keep it at a low bubble once you bring it down from the boil, and add some water or extra broth.

Put the ¼ cup of oil in the pan with the onions, half teaspoon of salt, and set it over a medium heat. Stir, coat, and soften your onions without burning for about 8 to 10 minutes. Ladle in about 1/2 cup of hot water or liquid, and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes so that all the liquid is cooked off. Now that the moisture is cooked off add in your 2 cups Rice all at once and stir to coat in the onions and oil; do this for about 3 minutes to toast, but not scorch and color. Standing by, have a timer set for 20 minutes.

Now pour in the wine all at once and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes stirring constantly until the moisture is evaporated. Ladle into the rice 1 ½ to 2 cups hot liquid, and start the timer… stir stir stir….. (you don’t have to break your wrist though, we are just trying to keep things from burning and sticking while soaking up all the liquid). Lower the heat if necessary to keep a perking bubble, and add a pinch more salt.

So you’ll be adding in about 3 to 4 additions of water depending on how soft you’d like your risotto. You can add as little as 5 cups if you want it al dente or if you like it super soft up to 7 cups. You’ll be adding water roughly every 6 minutes, stirring constantly and making sure nothing sticks and burns as the liquid evaporates. You are welcome to check for doneness after 5 cups of liquid are added. No more than 7 cups should be added to avoid over cooking.

After the second addition of water add in your sauteed mushrooms *this is optional but delicious!* Continue stirring and after another 6 minutes add ANOTHER addition of liquid whether you’ve decided to go for 5, 6, or 7 cups…keep track of how much you’re adding! When you’ve got it to the consistency of your liking, “al dente” or “creamy” you can stop. Turn off the heat, add in 2 tbsps of olive oil, your grated cheese, and black pepper to taste, guess what, you’re done!

Part 2! (this part is courtesy of Chef John Wilson)

The fish is super duper easy! Before finishing your risotto you can turn your oven on to broil and get it heating up. In a small sauce pan put in your tomatoes and basil chiffonade with a little salt and olive oil. Cook over low to medium heat for about 5 minutes. While you’re doing that…take your fish fillets and drown them in a little lemon juice, and then salt, and pepper them.

Stick them in the oven on BROIL for 5 minutes or so, and then pull them out. Scoop your tomato mixture over the top of the fish and Voila!

This combo is really yummy and it’s a good excuse to feel fancy. Best part is that it is pretty easy to do. After doing this I think my adjustments would be to use fresh chicken or veggie stock for sure, maybe puree some extra mushrooms with a little oil to add in as well, and definitely use a more varied bunch of onion. As seen in the picture, all I had at the moment was dried basil so that’s what you see there. Fresh Basil is worlds apart, and much, much, much, better so make sure you remember to pick some up before you get home and start cooking! As for cooking with wine you don’t have to go super fancy if you don’t want to. Trader Joe’s “2 Buck Chuck” works just fine! Mmmm.