Mushroom-Green Bean Risotto

Risotto is delicious in all forms, but hardly healthy in general. Rice is full of carbs and calories and risottos often included added salt (as well as salty broth to start) and thick creams and cheeses. Yummy perhaps, but hardly leaving you feeling fit and healthy. This risotto is still carb-heavy, it's hard to avoid that with a rice dish, but it takes out a lot of the vegetable broth (instead using liquid flavored with porcini mushrooms), just uses a bit of reduced fat Parmesan, and packs in some veggies for an extra wallop.

If you use freshly grated Parmesan, full of flavor, you can cut down on the amount in the recipe below. It's a bit of a toss-up. The low-fat version doesn't muster up the same taste as the freshly grated stuff, so you need more of it. In the end, who knows which one ends up better for you!

Difficulty: medium
Time: 1 hr
Cost: $12.69



Mushroom-Green Bean Risotto
Ingredients:
1/2 oz dried porcini mushrooms
1 tbsp olive oil
2 c exotic mushrooms, sliced
1/2 c shallots, diced
2.5 c green beans, trimmed and cut into 1" pieces
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 1/4 c arborio rice
1/2 c white wine
1 c vegetable broth
1/2 c reduced fat Parmesan, grated

First, get your porcini mushrooms soaking. Put the dried mushrooms in a bowl and add 3 cups of hot water. Let the mushrooms soak for 15 minutes. Then, drain the mushrooms, reserving the 3 cups of liquid. Chop the porcini mushrooms.

Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, swirling to coat. Add the fresh mushrooms and saute for 7-8 minutes. Stir occasionally to keep from burning.

Add the shallots, porcini mushrooms, green beans, and black pepper. Cook for another 2 minutes.

Add the rice and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Pour in the wine. Stir nearly constantly and cook just until liquid evaporates. Then, add 1/c cup of the reserved mushroom liquid. Continue stirring nearly constantly until that nearly evaporates. At that point, add the next 1/2 cup of liquid. Continue this process with the 3 cups of reserved porcini liquid and the 1 cup of vegetable broth. You should add 4.5 cups of liquid in all, including the wine. The entire process of adding liquid and stirring until it's gone is about 25-30 minutes.

When the last batch of liquid is nearly absorbed add the Parmesan cheese. Stir just until combined and then remove from the heat and enjoy.

Servings: 4
Serving size: about 2 cups
Nutrition: calories 385; carbs 66g; fat 7g; protein 13g; sodium 492mg; iron 9mg