Mushroom Quinotto
I was pretty hesitant to make this, since I wasn’t sure if it would be any good…. I LOVE risotto. I love mushroom risotto, seafood risotto, “plain” risotto etc. I’ve made risotto a few times before and it has come out out well sometimes. It’s a little hit or miss.
I’ve tried a little bit of quinoa before. Someone had brought some in for lunch and let me try some of hers. I wasn’t a big fan of it. She was eating it plain. She apparently likes the “nutty” taste. Most people I’ve spoken to are not big fans of quinoa. When I tasted the plain quinoa to see if it was done, I wasn’t a big fan of it either.
I had bought some mushrooms on sale that needed to be cooked, so I bought some quinoa from the grocery store. I figured that since I was only making a cup and a half of this grain, it wouldn’t be too bad if I didn’t like it. A cup and a half doesn’t sound like much. I had forgotten how much 2 cups of rice makes. The quinotto barely fit in my saucepan!
The package said that I didn’t have to wash the quinoa, but I had heard that quinoa should be thoroughly washed, so I tried to rinsed it anyway. Quinoa are pretty small, and it was pretty hard to drain the the water from the quinoa. Next time I will only wash the Quinoa if the package states that I must.
This quinotto was AMAZING! I kept eating more as I was putting it away for lunch. The Parmesan cheese definitely makes the dish. At first I thought it was a little bland, but once I added the Parmesan cheese to it, it was amazing. Granted this dish isn’t exactly healthy. Still, a “regular” risotto with arborio rice generally includes a good amount of heavy cream and Parmesan cheese anyway. At least this dish uses quinoa instead of arborio rice!
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups water (or amount specified on package)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup white wine
- ½ cup half and half
- Ground nutmeg, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 4 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
- Rinse the quinoa and cook according to the instructions on the package, until it is almost cooked all the way through.
- Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat the olive oil and butter over low heat. Once the butter has melted, add the onions and mushrooms and saute until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the wine and half and half and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Add nutmeg and pepper, to taste.
- Add the cooked quinoa to the saucepan and stir to combine. Lower the heat and continue to cook until the mixture has thickened, about 2 minutes.
- Add the Parmesan cheese and parsley and stir to combine.
- Serve immediately.
Adapted from Ceviche by Martin Morales
