Risotto Recipes
Recipes help people prepare food and discern the accurate calorie intake in a meal. Making alterations to these recipes results in major changes that determine whether a person is getting nutritional benefits or reducing these foods’ benefits. Portobello risotto exhibits many differences to shiitake risotto, showcasing minor variations in the recipe can result in intended and unintended consequences in one’s diet.
Original Recipe: Portobello Risotto
Number of Servings – 4
Ingredients
- 6 cups of chicken stock
- 2 olive oil tablespoons
- 1 finely chopped shallot
- 455 g of portobello mushrooms that are thinly sliced and stemmed
- 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon of finely chopped fresh thyme
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- 2 teaspoons of salt for taste
- 1 cup of sweet red pepper for taste
- 200 g of arborio rice
- 120 ml white wine
- 110 g of grated parmesan cheese, add for serving
- 10 g of fresh parsley for serving
Preparation
- Insert the stock in a medium pot and bring it to a boil using high heat. Make sure it is boiling before reducing heat to a low setting or remove the pan from heat and place it nearby.
- Use a pot with wide and tall dimensions to heat the olive oil using medium heat until it begins to shimmer. Once this process occurs, add the shallot and cook while frequently stirring until they elicit a translucent color.
- Add the unsalted butter and portobello mushrooms. Cook while stirring intermittently until the mushrooms have cooked down to reduce their chewy form.
- Add the salt, thyme, pepper, and garlic, stir, and leave the pot to cook for 1 minute.
- When the butter melts, and one can smell an aromatic smell from the garlic, add the rice while stirring until the arborio rice is fully immersed in the mushroom broth. Leave it to toast for 2 minutes, and gain fragrance.
- Pour white wine into the mixture and cook the dish until it has dissipated in the air while occasionally stirring.
- Add 1 cup of the cooked stock and stir to mix evenly, cooking while stirring regularly until you notice the broth is fully absorbed.
- Repeat the previous step, reducing the stock added to half a cup at a time while stirring continuously until the food absorbs the broth. This process should take 20 minutes. Note that there may be leftover broth if the rice cooks fast.
- Once the rice is firm to the bite, remove the dish from the heat source and add parmesan cheese. Stir the food to combine.
- Add parsley, salt, pepper, and parmesan to top the dish.
Enjoy!
Modified Recipe: Shiitake Risotto
Number of Servings – 4
Ingredients
- 6 cups of low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 extra virgin olive oil tablespoons
- 1 finely chopped shallot
- 455 g of shiitake mushrooms that are thinly sliced and stemmed
- 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon of finely chopped fresh thyme
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- 2 teaspoons of salt for taste
- 1 cup of sweet red pepper for taste
- 200 g of arborio rice
- 120 ml white wine
- 110 g of grated parmesan cheese, add for serving
- 10 g of fresh parsley for serving
Preparation
- Insert the low-sodium broth in a medium pot and bring it to a boil using high heat. Make sure it is boiling before reducing heat to a low setting or remove the pan from heat and place it nearby.
- Use a pot with wide and tall dimensions to heat the extra virgin olive oil using medium heat until it begins to shimmer. Once this process occurs, add the shallot and cook while frequently stirring until they elicit a translucent color.
- Add the unsalted butter and shiitake mushrooms. Cook while stirring intermittently until the mushrooms have cooked down to reduce their chewy form.
- Add the salt, thyme, pepper, and garlic, stir, and leave the pot to cook for 1 minute.
- When the butter melts, and one can smell an aromatic smell from the garlic, add the rice while stirring until the arborio rice is fully immersed in the mushroom broth. Leave it to toast for 2 minutes, and gain fragrance.
- Pour white wine in the mixture and cook the dish until it has dissipated in the air while occasionally stirring.
- Add 1 cup of the cooked broth and stir to mix evenly, cook while stirring regularly until you notice the broth is fully absorbed.
- Repeat the previous step, reducing the broth added to half a cup at a time while stirring continuously until the food absorbs the broth. This process should take 20 minutes. Note that there may be leftover broth if the rice cooks fast.
- Once the rice is firm to the bite, remove the dish from the heat source and add parmesan cheese. Stir the food to combine.
- Add parsley, salt, pepper, and parmesan to top the dish.
Enjoy!
Reflection
I changed the recipe to increase the food’s nutritious content while boosting calories using healthy food that allowed recommended calorie intake. The first change involves altering the chicken stock, using a low-sodium option to alleviate the chances that an individual would develop high blood pressure (WHO, 2020). These changes also reduce the potential for a person to have a stroke or heart disease while preventing calcium loss as the mineral may be pulled from bones (WHO, 2020). Low-sodium stock or broth is helpful in alleviating these health issues.
Additionally, the modified recipe replaces shiitake mushrooms with portobello mushrooms. The former alternative has 1.55x additional food energy per 100 grams; it has 34kcal versus 22kcal exhibited in portobello (Versus). Furthermore, shiitake have 6.16% more proteins than the ones used in the original recipe. They also have 1.94x more zinc and 32.26% extra iron than portobello mushrooms. Shiitake offer 1.92x more dietary fiber per 100g and 100% less fructose (Versus). The mushrooms also prove their superiority in showcasing 1.98x more vitamin B6 and 3.33x additional manganese than the alternative, portobello (Versus). Shiitake mushrooms contain beta-glucans, compounds that protect the intestines by eliminating cholesterol absorption (Versus). They also reduce inflammation and support the immune system. These mushrooms are healthy as they reduce blood cholesterol levels.
Extra virgin oil is the least processed oil and retains most of its vitamins and antioxidants. Using shiitake instead of portobello mushrooms darkens the risotto color from a light brown to dark brown. However, both mushrooms do not alter the risotto taste as they have a meaty taste with a pleasantly chewy texture. The extra virgin oil did not alter the risotto’s appearance, taste, or texture. It is also important to state that changing the chicken to low-sodium varieties reduced the taste of salt, though by a minute variation.
The change in ingredients from the original recipe increased the number of calories present from 473 to 731 calories per serving. The sodium content also decreased significantly from 111% to 66%. Additionally, the value of carbohydrates increased to 48% from 19% in the original recipe. However, portobello boosted the value of potassium in the original recipe, providing 12% of the daily value compared to 3% in the modified recipe. Nonetheless, these changes are attributed to portobello mushrooms that have fewer calories per serving. It is important to note that alterations to the mineral content are an unintended consequence of the modification. However, I would make similar modifications in the future as the value gained from these changes exceeds the loss. Furthermore, these changes do not alter the food’s taste and offer health benefits such as the reduced risk for heart diseases and increased energy.
Altering a recipe has major ramifications in nutrient content, and the minerals change. The shiitake risotto is healthier and provides more energy to individuals than its portobello alternative. People should consider the nutrients in the ingredients used in cooking as they may derive health benefits due to minute changes. The inverse is also true, as illustrated in the essay. You are what you eat.
References
Ciampa, M. (2019). How to cook a perfect risotto recipe by Tasty. tasty.co. Web.
Versus. (n.d.). Portabella mushrooms vs shiitake mushrooms: What is the difference? VERSUS. Web.
WHO. (2020). Salt reduction. World Health Organization. Web.