Mushroom Crab Risotto

This mushroom crab risotto is packed with meaty sauteed mushrooms, and rich buttery crab for the solid Italian inspired dinner!

At Avdaye, we add lots of tips in all of our recipes – because we are a home cook without any formal training, and we find we are more confident making dishes when we understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. Our goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

Our Favorite Mushroom Crab Risotto

We love to make risotto- it's an easy, hearty dish that fills your belly and feeds your soul. Plus- risottos are deceptively simple and a breeze to throw together – they require some stirring- which makes them ideal for a dinner party or a date, where you can stand over the stove and stir, but you don't have to go through any complicated steps or worry about messing things up. Adding Crabmeat to this simple and rustic dish elevates it to a party-solid showstopper in no time! This Mushroom Crab Risotto is one of our family's favorite new dishes, and it will be one of yours, too!

Kitchen notes

Many people think that risotto is a hard dish to prepare- but it's actually easy. The one thing you need to do though is stir it. Stir, stir, stir- the thick consistency comes from the starch of the rice, which is released by frequent stirring. If you've ever made rice pilaf and stirred it a bit too much and it got gummy, it is the exact same process- except in this case we're trying to get that thick, sticky, gummy texture.

To speed up your risotto, keep the stock you'll be adding to the mixture in another pan on the stove, under boiling. Adding cold stock to each addition slows cooking time down a bit- so keeping some warmed on the stove will shave 10 minutes or so off your cooking time- and it's not much more of a mess. If you set the stock out on a warm countertop though (or your kitchen is warm) you can easily make this into a one-pot meal by not heating your stock. don't add COLD stock, whatever you do! It will make this recipe take forever!

If your rice doesn't thicken- get to stirring!!

Lastly, for the crabmeat- here in Colorado the only “fresh” (non-canned) crabmeat we can get is found in our grocer's seafood case- it typically comes in a plastic tub. This is either cooked or not- but crabmeat takes such a short time to cook when packaged like this, you want to add it at the end of the cooking process. Adding it too early will make your risotto overly fishy and make the crabmeat gummy. Add it at the end!

We haven't used canned crabmeat because we're not a huge fan of it, but if you like it, go for it! You can also use this method with a pound of shrimp- or check out one of our other risotto recipes!

Other good Recipes

Try these other good Avdaye favorites next!

Mushroom Crab Risotto Recipe

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Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 8 oz cremini mushrooms, cleaned and diced
• 2 shallots, diced
• 3 tbsp butter
• 2 ½ cups arborio rice
• ½ cup dry vermouth, optional
• 28 oz chicken stock, lower sodium is best
• ½ tsp sea salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 1 cup water
• 9 oz container fresh lump crabmeat, not canned
• ¼ cup green onions, diced
• Parmesan Cheese, optional

Method

1. Heat olive oil in a large pan or ceramic dutch oven over high heat.
2. When oil is shimmery, add diced onions, mushrooms, and shallots.
3. When vegetables are slightly browned, add butter and stir.
4. Lower heat to medium-low, add rice, stir well.
5. Let rice brown slightly (think "toasted" for a little flavor)
6. Add a little bit of stock and vermouth (optional!!)- enough to keep the consistency liquid.
7. Stir frequently until rice thickens.
8. Add a more stock 1 ladle full at a time to keep the risotto barely liquid while cooking. Repeat stirring frequently until thickened and adding enough stock to keep it from burning or becoming too thick.
9. When your stock is gone, and the risotto has become thicker add the salt and pepper, taste and add more salt if necessary.
10. If the rice is too crunchy for your taste, add a little water and proceed with the steps above. Risotto should be slightly al dente- a slight, teeny crunch when bit. If you over cook the rice, it will become a bit gummy- but its all individual taste.
11. Add crabmeat- if cooked, at the end to warm it up. If using uncooked crab give it about 5 minutes to cook thoroughly. You don't want it overcooked or it will be gummy and fishy.
12. When risotto is thick enough to not spread all over a plate, but not so thick you can shape it like mashed potatoes, it is ready.
13. Garnish with green onions and fresh grated parmesan cheese, enjoy warm!