Risotto- my new favorite comfort food!

So this gluten free thing gets me down sometimes, I'm still not 100% used to it and miss a lot of my favorite foods- being able to eat pasta out at a restaurant, grabbing a slice of New York's finest, or grabbing my once-a-month bagel. I know I'm better off for it, but that doesn't mean I don't miss it all.

Recently I found what will now become my favorite restaurant of the moment, Risotteria in the West Village. This is heaven for those of us who are gluten free. Its a risotto restaurant, that also serves pizzas, paninis and salads that are all, you guessed it.... gluten free! Gluten free breadsticks to start your meal too- pretty awesome! There's also a bake shop that serves gluten free breads, cookies, cakes, and flours. I bought the rolls, soooo excited to finally have a sandwich and they were actually really good. I plan on stocking up. I had a risotto with mushrooms and truffle that was really well cooked, al dente rice- the whole nine.

For those of you who eat with me often, this will be the next place we go. I promise you won't be disappointed, even if you aren't cursed with a gluten allergy.

www.risotteria.com

 

 

 

It was this restaurant that inspired me to try risotto on my own. I semi-created a mushroom, herb and shrimp risotto. Came out pretty good...

Herbed Mushroom and Shrimp Risotto with Truffle (Gluten free)


Olive oil
1 shallot
2 cloves garlic, minced
a bunch of herbs, chopped, I used rosemary and thyme because that's what I had in the house
mushrooms- I just used however many I left, I would recommend 1 container or so. Also might be good with a variety of mushrooms
tbsp butter
a few splashes of Truffle oil- optional, but worth having around the house!
1 cup arborio rice
5-8 cups (or so) vegetable broth
1/3 cup dry white wine
10 shrimp, cleaned
Parmesan cheese


Empty 5 cups of vegetable broth into a large saucepot. Simmer and keep warm with a lid. You will use this for the risotto.


Season shrimp with salt and pepper, saute until cooked through and set aside.


In a saucepan saute half the shallot and 1 clove of garlic in olive oil. After onion is translucent, add mushrooms and herbs. Saute until mushrooms and herbs are cooked through. Remove from heat and top with a few splashes of Truffle oil. A lot of truffle oil goes a long way, keep that in mind. Set aside with shrimp. 


In a large dutch oven or pot, saute the rest of the shallot and 2nd clove of garlic in olive oil. When translucent, add rice and stir. Turn heat to medium low and let rice get golden. Add wine and let evaporate. Ladle some warm vegetable broth into rice and stir. Allow broth to evaporate almost completely and continue adding broth, ladle by ladle. This process takes a good 25 minutes or so. You have to watch it and stir a lot. But its easy. You are finished when it tastes creamy, it looks more runny than mine does below, and the rice is still al dente. Stir in a healthy handful of Parmesan cheese.


Add mushroom and herb mixture and the shrimp. Top with parmesan and a little more truffle oil for good measure. 

Top chef judges would say this wasn't soupy enough, but bear with me, next time, more liquid....