Mushroom Quinoa Risotto

Quinoa is a nice, South Beachy grain, and it's actually quite tasty, especially combined with the yummy, earthy flavors of wild mushrooms. Even if you cook too much of the liquid off (which I may have done) and it's not quite as soft and creamy as risotto typically is, the dish is still pretty damn fine overall. This is a great, easy, totally straightforward recipe. I loved the addition of goat cheese due to my severe goat cheese addiction. I typically use grated Parmesan or Romano cheese which are much more true to a standard risotto. This time around I used a little bit of both. This dish is much less labor intensive than a true risotto as well, since you add all of the liquid at once and leave it to simmer, rather than adding it ladle by ladle (though you can do that too!).

Mushroom Quinoa Risotto
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large shallot, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound wild mushrooms, such as chanterelles, oysters, or porcinis, cleaned and chopped
1 cup quinoa
2 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)
1/4 cup white wine (I used a chardonnay)
2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled AND/OR 1/4 - 1/2 cup grated hard Italian cheese such as Parmesan

1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter. When the butter has melted, stir in the shallot, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

2. Add the olive oil and mushrooms, season again, and cook for another five minutes, or until mushrooms have begun giving off their water. (You can prepare the dish up to this point and set aside for an hour or two, or refrigerate overnight.)

3. Add the quinoa and the wine and broth, stir, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook at a bare simmer, covered, for 10 minutes, or until all the liquid has been absorbed. Stir in the Parmesan and the goat cheese until both have melted, season to taste, and serve hot. You could also stir in some additional butter at this point if you're more interested in richness than waistlines.