Recipe: Mushroom Quinotto

Sometimes a gal just wants a decadent meal. Something creamy, something savory, something so unbelievably flavorful that you’d never believe it might actually be good for you. I get this hankering every now and then, and I turn to this recipe to hit that spot!  

Ingredients: parsley, mushrooms, half & half, garlic, white wine, beef broth, quinoa, onion, parmesan cheese, goat cheese (Not pictured: garlic salt, pepper, butter)

This quinotto recipe is a (relatively) healthier twist on risotto. Its staple is protein-rich quinoa in place of arborio rice, and it gets its creaminess from (this is where the “relatively” comes in) cream & cheese.

What makes this dish particularly delicious, though, is using a high quality beef broth as the base. Sorry, no bouillon today, folks. Obviously, you can make this a vegetarian dish by replacing the beef broth with veggie broth, but I don’t recommend it. It’s impossible to replace the intense savoriness the beef contributes that makes it taste as if you’ve added in a long-braised roast to the pot.

The best part? It’s one of those one-pot wonders made purely of kitchen staples a�� you probably have 90% of the ingredients sitting in your kitchen right now. That makes it a perfect dish to whip up when you have an unexpected group of hungry people over. I made this recently when I had a family at our place after a day on the town. Everyone had eaten before they arrived, but of course my family tends to linger (as they should!), so I threw this together as the evening drew on and everybody loved it! Bring it to a potluck or serve it for dinner alongside a green salad, and boom, you’re done. 

Mushroom Quinotto

2015-04-19 21:38:30

A rich mushroom risotto... made from quinoa!

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Ingredients

1. 2 cups white quinoa
2. 4 cups beef broth
3. 8 ounces crimini mushrooms, sliced
4. 4 cloves garlic, minced
5. 1 large onion, diced
6. 2 tbsp. salted butter
7. 1/4 cup white wine*
8. 1/4 cup half & half*
9. 1/4 cheese to finish** (Parmigiano-Reggiano, goat cheese, or mozzarella, or any combination of those)
10. 1/4 cup chopped parsley, plus more for garnish
11. Garlic salt
12. Pepper

Instructions

1. Heat 1 tbsp. butter in a heavy pot or dutch oven on medium-high heat
2. Add diced onions & minced garlic and cook until translucent but not brown
3. Add mushrooms, pepper, and a pinch of garlic salt, and cook until tender
4. Remove mushrooms and set aside with majority of onions remaining in pot
5. Add 1 tbsp. butter & wine and reduce until syrupy
6. Add beef broth and allow it to warm for 5 minutes
7. Add quinoa, cook for about 15 minutes (ensure a bit of the cooking liquid remains; we're looking for it to stay wet, not fluffy)
8. Once quinoa is cooked thoroughly, add mushrooms back in
9. Add half & half, cheese(s), parsley and stir
10. Serve in bowls, topped with fresh parsley

Notes

1. *These quantities aren't a perfect science. Start with 1/4 cup and see how it feels. Did you pour too much wine? Reduce for longer and don't add more. Is it too little half & half and the dish is more chunky than creamy? Add a splash more! And really, you can't go wrong with too much cheese.
2. **I used both Parmigiano-Reggiano and an herbed goat cheese for this post, but made it recently for a crowd with smoked mozzarella and it was AMAZING.

Shireen & Savory https://www.shireenandsavory.com/

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