Leek Risotto with Gouda and Smoked Mushrooms is the perfect side dish for your holiday table or as a vegetarian main entrée.

I am finally getting on board the Thanksgiving side dish train (hey Beer Girl Cooks, that’s a reference to you) with this Leek Risotto with Gouda and Smoked Mushrooms.  It’s not even funny how far behind I am on the holiday posts.  I just can’t seem to get my act together with posting recipes before whatever holiday is coming up.  I should be called the “Poorly Timed Food Blogger”.  The one who posts after-holiday recipes of holiday recipes.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about celebrating every holiday with glorious food and drink, but apparently I don’t like to cook holiday food before the holiday.  Like last year, I posted this Turchicken with cornbread sausage stuffing recipe AFTER Thanksgiving.  My rational brain thought, we’ve already made it for Thanksgiving so might as well turn it into a blog post!  In my defense, I figured people might want to make it for Christmas and, if not, then at least it’s posted in time for this year’s turkey day

Leeks are in season right now and big bunch were in my organic CSA box from Steve Normanton Farms this past week, so I decided an easy risotto recipe would be the perfect vehicle to showcase this tasty veggie.  The huge chunk of creamy raw milk Gouda cheese from another local farm and the lovely organic, white button mushrooms in the refrig made their way into this dish too.  I roasted the mushrooms in the oven sprinkled with Frontier Yakima Applewood Smoked Sea Salt  to give them a slight smoky flavor.  It’s a wonderful salt to use if you’re looking to add a little smokiness to a dish.  BTW, I bought the smoked salt in the bulk section of my local health food store so check out your local store to see if you can try a little of it first before buying a big bag.

Risotto should be a creamy dish, where it flows across a flat plate, not looking all clumpy like it is my photos.  Truth:  my risotto was very creamy when I first started taking photos, but then the grains began to absorb the liquid and so now it looks like a regular plate of rice.  Risotto photo fail.  Also, I tried to show the ooey gooey cheesy goodness by picking up the risotto with a fork and taking an action shot.  Another truth:  action shots are not my forte and are usually always blurry.  If you ever see a clear action shot on this blog, please enjoy the moment, because it’s probably not gonna happen again for a while.

Here’s a great tip for reheating leftover risotto to it’s original creamy consistently:  Place the leftover risotto in a heat-proof bowl and mix in enough extra chicken or vegetable broth to fully moisten throughout.  Put the bowl in a steamer basket over boiling water or in a microwave with a steam setting for 3-4 minutes.  Stir and add more broth if needed.  I always heat mine via my microwave steam setting and the risotto turns out as good as new each time.

Hope you enjoyed this Leek Risotto with Gouda and Smoked Mushrooms holiday side dish post and be on the lookout for another recipe using the risotto leftovers coming out later this week!

5.0 from 8 reviews

Leek Risotto with Gouda and Smoked Mushrooms

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

The perfect side dish for your holiday table or as a vegetarian main entrée.

Author: Tasty Ever After

Serves: 8 servings

Ingredients

• FOR THE LEEK MIXTURE:
• 4 Tb unsalted butter
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 large leeks, cut each leek down middle and wash well to remove dirt; thinly slice white and pale green parts
• 1 garlic clove, finely minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• FOR THE MUSHROOMS:
• 12 ounces mushrooms (use whatever type you like), cleaned and roughly chopped
• 2 tsp olive oil
• ½ tsp smoked salt (I use Frontier's Yakima Applewood Smoked Sea Salt. Use more or less of the salt depending on taste or can leave out and substitute regular salt)
• FOR THE RISOTTO:
• 7-8 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
• 3 Tb unsalted butter, divided
• 2 cups Arborio rice
• ¾ cup dry white wine
• 2 cups Gouda, shredded

Instructions

1. FOR THE LEEK MIXTURE:
2. Melt butter in a large heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add the leeks to the onions and sauté for another 10 minutes. Add the garlic to the leek mixture and sauté for another 4-5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove mixture from pan and set aside.
3. FOR THE MUSHROOMS:
4. Preheat oven to 425F degrees.
5. In a medium bowl, mix together the mushrooms, olive oil, and smoked salt. Place mixture on a baking sheet and roast in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and cooked through. Keep warm.
6. FOR THE RISOTTO:
7. While the mushrooms are roasting, prepare the risotto. Heat the broth in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat and keep hot.
8. In the same large pan that the leek mixture was cooked in, melt 2 Tb butter over medium heat. Add the Arborio rice and cook, stirring consistently, for about 1 minute, making sure rice is coated with the butter.
9. Add the wine and stir constantly until the wine has fully absorbed into the rice, about 1-2 minutes. Add the hot broth, 1 cup at a time, to the rice and stir constantly until the broth is almost fully absorbed into the rice. Continue to add the broth until the rice is tender and mixture is creamy, about 20-25 minutes. Add more broth for a creamier texture. Rice should be slightly al dente (firm to the bite) and not mushy.
10. Stir in the Gouda cheese, the remaining 1 Tb butter, and the leek mixture. Transfer risotto to a large serving bowl and top with the roasted mushrooms.
11. Enjoy!

3.5.3208

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