Mushroom risotto with Chef Rhys

I am so excited to announce that Chef Rhys will be one of my  guest Chefs on Zoom Cooking Uncovered with Mir.
Rhys is the Executive Chef at Cactus Club Barlow Trail, Calgary and has been with Cactus for 14 years. He completed his undergrad degree from UBC and then attended  VCC Culinary School where he graduated with his Red Seal. One of his culinary favorites is risotto and today he is sharing his technique and his recipe with us.

Ingredients:
1L sodium reduced broth - use either chicken or vegetable

4 tbsp. olive oil
3 cups diced mushrooms - diced small
1 cup shallots or white onion
2 garlic cloves
1 cup of Arborio rice (see pic below) - short grain rice

1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan  cheese
2 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. fresh parsley - brunoise diced

1 1/2 cups white wine
fresh parsley to garnish at the end
Equipment:
heavy bottom sauté pan
small pot to heat up the stock
wooden spoon

Pour your broth of choice into a pot on the stove and turn on to heat up. Nothing else goes into this pot...only the 1L of broth.
Now, turn on the heat to medium high to pre heat your sauté pan that we will make the risotto in.
Add olive oil to the sauté pan once it is preheated.
Add diced mushrooms and sauté until the mushrooms are half cooked and you can smell their aroma.
Add onions to the mushrooms and continue to cook while stirring until the onions are transparent (they are not white anymore).
Add garlic & continue to cook.
At this point you will notice that you have some 'fond' on the bottom of the pan which is a good thing. Deglazing those little bits is one of the most fundamental flavor-boosting techniques we can use in our cooking. In this process, you add a cup or so of liquid (like broth, wine, or water) to the hot pan. This will immediately create clouds of steam and help lift the fond. 

Deglaze the pan by adding the white wine to the the mushroom medley.
The pan will sizzle and this is a good thing...stir with your wooden spoon to dislodge the fond off the bottom of the pan.
Add dry risotto to mushroom/wine medley.  Keep the medium heat on and stir the risotto in.
This is a very important step and it is important not to rush this step.  The risotto needs this time in the sauté pan to absorb all the delicious flavors. Allow a couple of minutes at this step while you continue to stir.
At this point your broth in the other pot should be close to the boil.Turn it down so it remains hot but not boiling.
Pour one ladle of hot broth into the risotto mixture. Stir with your wooden spoon until this portion of broth is 90% absorbed. The risotto should never dry out.
Pour a second ladle of broth again in the risotto. Stir again until 90% absorbed.
Continue to add the broth as before, one ladle at a time until almost all your broth is gone and when the wooden spoon leaves a trace in the rice. After about 20 minutes, the rice should be al dente, having absorbed almost all the liquid and have a creamy consistency.
Add butter at the end with the parm cheese and parsley to garnish.  
Serve immediately with your choice of protein.  Yummy and thanks Rhys for this great recipe.

this is an example of Arborio Rice