A version of this recipe was published in Cooking Light a couple of years ago, so you can kind of feel good about eating it 🙂

Risotto isn’t tough to make, but it does have to be tended to.  Have someone hang out with you in the kitchen while you make it, catch up on the latest reality TV, or just play some relaxing music and enjoy the quiet.  If you’re a wine drinker, pop open a bottle of dry white since you’ll need it in the recipe.  And pour a glass for yourself too!  Here’s how you make it:  melt butter and add onion.

Stir in garlic.

Add the Arborio rice.

Stir it around a little bit.

Add white wine and let the rice absorb the wine.  If you’re not a wine drinker, just use chicken or vegetable broth here instead.

Meanwhile, saute your mushrooms in another pan…

…until they are softened.  Then just let them hang out off the heat while you finish the rest of the dish.

Here’s the part where you have to be patient.  You’re going to add 1/2 cup of warm broth, then stir and stir until the rice absorbs it.  Then you’ll add another 1/2 cup and stir, stir, stir.  Keep going with the 1/2 cup routine until the rice has absorbed all of the broth and is very tender.

It should look kind of like this.

Then stir in the mushrooms, thyme, peas, pepper and a little bit of Parmesan.

Divide it between four bowls and serve topped with a little more Parm. Risotto isn’t something that you want to eat a humongous bowl of… it’s actually quite filling and satisfying.  I like to serve it with a large green salad.  And wine, of course.  This recipe happens to be weight watcher’s friendly (see nutritional info and points in the recipe below), and it’s naturally gluten-free too. We the parents in my house loved our Shiitake and Sweet Pea Risotto, mushrooms and all.  Hopefully someday the kid will realize just how much he’s missing out by not chowing down on mushrooms! P.S. I once tricked my boy into eating a burger that was made entirely of ground-up Portobello Mushrooms.  He actually ate it but kept asking me what was weird about it.  And he wasn’t too happy when he heard there were mushrooms involved.  I don’t think he’s quite forgiven me for that one yet 😉

Here are a few more delicious risotto recipes you might enjoy:

Risotto Primavera by The Pioneer Woman Butternut Squash, Rosemary and Blue Cheese Risotto by RecipeGirl White Wine Risotto with Roasted Vegetables by Food for My Family  Roasted Beet Risotto by Love and Olive OilÂ