Corn-Mushroom Risotto

Believe it or not but I’ve never had risotto before. I’ve definitely heard of it but I had no idea what it was! But then I was watching 30-Minutes Meals with Rachel Ray and she talked about how a risotto is simply a creamy rice dish that can be made very inexpensively with some white wine and some kind of broth. In this case, we used a nice corn broth with fresh kernels, giving it that extra corn oomph. There’s also some shiitake mushrooms, which I absolutely love, and my favorite ingredient of all, pancetta. These are all then beautifully blended in a nice creamy consistency that tasted absolutely amazing. It was definitely a bit more difficult than I had imagined, especially because I have no patience, but I stuck it out and the boyfriend and I enjoyed this wonderful dinner. They also tasted great as leftovers.

Corn-Mushroom Risotto (adapted from Food Network):

Yields 4 servings

3 ears corn, husked
2 teaspoons
1/3 lb pancetta, diced
6 ounces shiitake mushrooms, sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium shallots, chopped
1 1/4 cups arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
1 green onion, thinly sliced

Bring 7 cups water to a boil. Add the corn and cook, covered, until cooked through, about 8 minutes. Remove from pot, reserving corn broth, and allow to cool before scraping kernels from cob.

While the corn is cooking, heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the pancetta and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

Add the mushrooms to the skillet and saute until slightly crisp, about 3 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer to a plate.

Add the butter and shallots to the skillet; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook until soft, about 2 minutes.

Add the rice and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Stir in wine until absorbed.

Add 1 teaspoon salt and corn kernels.

Ladle in 1/2 cup hot corn broth, stirring until absorbed. Continue adding broth in 1/2-cup increments, allowing it to be absorbed before adding more, until the rice is just tender, about 20 minutes.