Rice Cooker Mushroom Risotto

Photo by B.

"Wait a minute, Vincci," you're probably thinking, "Didn't you just make mushroom risotto and roasted tomatoes not too long ago? You think you can just take some nicer pictures and re-post the recipe? What's the deal, yo?"

Calm down a little bit - there's something about this recipe that makes it just a little bit different.


Rice cookers are the most popular unitaskers in the world. Seriously - I doubt that there are any East Asian families that know how to make rice in a pot, let alone do it. Of course, rice cookers are trying to market themselves as multitaskers - many have a porridge function, and fancier ones have separate buttons for brown or sushi rice. Some even come with recipe books that teach you how to make things like cake.

So I guess Roger Ebert (yes, that Roger Ebert) isn't really forging a lot of new territory in his latest book, The Pot and How to Use It: The Mystery and Romance of the Rice Cooker, but Serious Eats was featuring it as a their "Cook the Book" a few weeks ago and shared some recipes from the book that I just couldn't help but label them all "to try" in my Reader. So on a recent weekend morning when B. and I were deciding what to have for supper, B. vetoed the Soy Rice & Chicken because it was too "traditional", the chili was supposed to take at least 8-10 hours and rice pudding is a dessert. This left us with the risotto - we had a lot of the ingredients anyway. Naturally, B. wanted to roast some tomatoes for an extra vegetable boost.


The verdict? The texture was close, but still didn't match the creaminess of a traditional stand-by-the-pot-and-stir risotto. Also, the recipe was a little bland compared to my risotto recipe, which sort of makes sense because it is, after all, a side dish. B. didn't like the addition of parsley, but enjoyed the extra browning/caramelization of the rice that was closer to the sides of the pot. I guess it saved some effort, but not much since you still have to saute the onions and rice at the beginning and cook the mushrooms separately. But it was still a fun experiment.

Rice Cooker Mushroom Risotto
Adapted from The Pot and How to Use It: The Mystery and Romance of the Rice Cooker, by Roger Ebert/Serious Eats
Serves 4-6

• 2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil, divided
  
• ⅓ cup (85 mL/75 g) butter or margarine, divided
  
• 1 onion, finely chopped
  
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
  
• 2 cups (500 mL) arborio rice, uncooked
  
• 1 cup (250 mL) white wine
  
• 4 cups (1 L) low-sodium chicken broth, heated
  
• 6 oz (170 g) portabella mushrooms, sliced (we used crimini)
  
• 8 oz (225 g) mushrooms, sliced
  
• ½ cup (125 mL) parmesan cheese, grated
  
• ¼ cup (60 mL) parsley, chopped

1. In a large frying pan or wok, heat half of the oil (1 tbsp/15 mL) and half of the butter (1/6 cup/38 g); add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is tender. Add the rice and stir through to coat the rice with the onion mixture.
   
2. Add the wine and cook, stirring, until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Transfer the mixture to the rice cooker cooking pan. Add the hot chicken stock and stir through. Making sure that the exterior of the pan is dry, place in the heating vessel and close the lid.
   
3. Depress the automatic control lever to Cook. When the cooking is complete, the rice cooker will automatically switch to the Keep Warm mode. Leave the rice in the cooker for 10 minutes at this stage. Do not open the rice cooker. Even if you're curious.
   
4. Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil and butter in a frying pan, add the mushrooms, and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are tender; drain any excess liquid.
   
5. After the rice has been in the Keep Warm mode for 10 minutes, open the lid. Stir in the mushrooms, parmesan, and parsley. Season to taste with freshly ground black pepper, if desired. Serve immediately.

Nutrition Info (per 1/6 recipe): 472 calories, 17 g fat (9 g saturated), 34 mg cholesterol, 59 g carbohydrate (3 g fibre, 3 g sugar), 12 g protein, 577 mg sodium. An excellent source of riboflavin (vitamin B₂), pantothenic acid (vitamin B₅), potassium, manganese and selenium. A good source of niacin (vitamin B₃), vitamin B₁₂, phosphorus, zinc and copper.