Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto

Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto is a cozy comfort food at it’s finest with an EASY dairy-free risotto the entire family will love.

This post is sponsored by Mushrooms Canada. My Kitchen Love has been compensated monetarily, although all opinions and love expressed for this vegetable are my own. 

I’m so very pleased to be partnering with Mushrooms Canada to bring you one of my favourite ways to cook with mushrooms, Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto. I adore making risotto. Contrary to popular belief, it’s quite easy to make and whatever stirring I chose to do relaxes me.

And mushrooms!! The perfect ingredient to extend a meal without adding tons of meat. In this risotto I used White Button, Shiitake and Oyster making a mix of the mushrooms, playing off their unique textures and flavours. Mushrooms are a great way to fit in additional Vitamin D and fibre into everyday meals.

This is my go to risotto recipe. It’s not complicated and is extremely forgiving if I get caught up in something else and don’t stir it as much as I should. It’s also diary-free making it a perfect vegetarian or vegan dish.

My kids love risotto and this dish is the only way I can get my picky eater to consume asparagus without any arguments. I cut the asparagus up into quite small pieces so that the pieces actually look like peas (sometimes a little trickery goes a long way). The rice release its starches in this recipe making it feel luxurious and creamy without having any dairy in it at all.

Out of all the mushrooms Shiitake and Oyster are my favourite types. One of my 3 year olds is obsessed with mushrooms and when I can work mushrooms into our meals I do. Mushrooms are a great way to make a dish feel substantial without adding lots of meat.

This recipe has a crumble of crispy pancetta on it, primarily for texture contrast and me not having to listen to my husband complain about a vegetarian meal. Almost all of my vegetarian or vegan dishes include mushrooms so that my husband thinks there’s meat where there isn’t.

When I made this dish we did some taste tasting and Shiitake won as the best tasting mushroom for our family. A nerdy, but fun game to do over eating supper together.

Nutritionally mushrooms are composed of a lot of different minerals and vitamins that generally help us stay healthy. Vitamin D (mushrooms being one of the only non-fortified natural foods), fibre and B Vitamins. All these nutritional aspects compliment each other to help our kids grow in a healthy way.

I know mushrooms can be polarizing for kids, but I’ll stick with my “start it early and often” rule with mushrooms. Incorporate mushrooms into baby food where possible and let the flavours grow with the babies versus offering it later on. Blended mushrooms taste great and could easily be incorporated into this recipe if larger chunks aren’t quite welcomed enthusiastically at your table by the younger people.

Risotto requires a specific type of rice so be sure to use arborio rice as it releases more starches and is what makes the risotto creamy without any dairy.

What’s your favourite way to enjoy mushrooms? I’m always on the lookout for new and exciting everyday mushrooms recipes!

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Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

25 mins

Total Time

30 mins

 

Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto is a cozy comfort food at it's finest with an EASY dairy-free risotto the entire family will love.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: French

Author: Samantha

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 6-8 thinly sliced pancetta or prosciutto (optional)
• 2 cups sliced or chopped mushrooms (button, crimini, oyster and/or shiitake all work)
• 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
• 1.5 cups arborio rice
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 5 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 1 tsp dried thyme or 3-4 thyme sprigs (fresh)
• 1/2 lbs asparagus, trimmed and chopped
• 1/2-1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2-1 tsp ground pepper
• 1 tsp truffle oil* (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large wide skillet or a large saucepan and add pancetta or prosciutto (if using). Cook until browned and crispy, flipping once. Remove from pan and drain on paper towel. Set aside.

2. Heat broth in a medium saucepan on a burner adjacent to the skillet the risotto will be made in.

3. Immediately add mushrooms to the pan and toss in oil. Very lightly season with salt and pepper. Allow mushrooms to cook undisturbed for 3-4 minutes per side (flip once juice have evaporated and mushrooms brown on bottom side).

4. Add garlic and allow to cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.

5. Add rice to pan and wine. Stir to combine flavours and cook until wine has been absorbed but the rice. Add thyme.

6. Add broth by 2-3 ladlefuls, stirring to fully combine and adding more broth as the rice becomes dry and broth is absorbed.

7. Before the last 2-3 ladlefuls of broth is added, add asparagus to the skillet

8. Add last 2-3 ladlefuls of broth and stir to combine.

   Taste. If needed very lightly season with pepper (and salt although I find it almost never needs it with the pancetta or prosciutto). Drizzle with optional truffle oil if desired.

Recipe Notes

* Truffle oil is widely found in the cooking oil section of most grocery stores. 

Enjoy! xo

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