Nutritious Quinoa Mushroom Risotto

If I talk about mushrooms then mushrooms are one of the healthy vegetable/fruit that you can include in your diet. Mushrooms are low in calories, fat-free, cholesterol-free and very low in sodium, yet they provide important nutrients, including selenium, potassium, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin D and many more. They are rich in anti-oxidants and improve your immunity, additionally they also have the properties to protect you from cancer. Hence, you can see this small little vegetable is a wonder veggie. 

Anyways I was thinking over mushroom risotto from quite a long. Traditionally, risotto is an Italian rice recipe that is cooked in broth, wine, cheese and Arborio rice until it’s creamy and smooth. It’s rich and flavorsome and definitely falls under holiday and celebration recipes. Mushroom risotto is an easy and simple recipe that you can make in any party or festival. It is known as the first course of the meal too. You can try varieties of options like mushroom & chicken risotto, or seafood risotto, simple vegetable risotto etc. what I was looking for some interesting healthy twist to this recipe and I found one. 

Instead of Arborio rice, you can use Quinoa too. Amazing isn’t it? However, adding quinoa doesn’t make this recipe boring or tasteless. This recipe is still creamy and flavorsome. You can in fact bring some interesting twist to this recipe i.e. by adding 3 types of mushrooms instead of one. This is a simple recipe and believe me there is no rocket science in making this recipe. 

Anyways let’s start cooking, I can’t wait to share this awesome recipe with you all –

This recipe can serve up to 4 servings

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 30-35 minutes

Total: 40-45 minutes

Ingredients –

• 1 ½ cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed thoroughly
• 7 grams of dried Porcini mushrooms – soaked in hot water
• 160 grams mix of button and Swiss brown mushrooms – sliced and partly cooked
• ½ sweet Italian onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups fresh spinach, steamed
• 2 quarts vegetable or chicken broth
• 1/4 cup dry white wine or sherry
• 1 bunch basil, chopped
• 1 bunch parsley, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil

Method –

1. In a pan heat the oil and add the garlic on a low heat and stir until it is fragrant. Add onions and sauté them until they are translucent. Now sauté sliced mushrooms for 3-4 minutes, or until tender.
2. At this time throw in your rinsed quinoa and coat with the mushrooms/onions, then add the broth, white wine and do the same. Let the quinoa absorb the broth. Now add the spinach. Stir regularly. Bring a boil over high heat, now stirring occasionally, until almost all liquid is absorbed and rice is creamy and tender for about 25 minutes.
3. Now add basil and parsley on the top. (If you want to add some cheese then add ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese into this, since I am making a healthy dish, I excluded the cheese completely). 

Enjoy this healthy recipe of mushroom risotto. You can also throw some baked chicken or leftover turkey chunks into the recipe. Do let me know how did you find this recipe? If you have any query or confusion you can comment below or you can even send me an email. Till then, stay fit and fabulous. Take care!