One of my favorite things to make in winter, the ultimate comfort food, is risotto.
It’s fast, easy, and perfect for 2.
It also doubles or triples easily.
I almost always make it with white wine. But the heartier flavors of beef and mushrooms (and the gloomy day) just wanted red wine.
For the record, I made risotto with champagne once, but it was such a struggle to put it in the risotto rather than my glass I never tried again.
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PrintRed Wine Risotto with Beef & Mushrooms
This is a great way to use leftover red wine – if you ever have it….
It’s not necessary to add butter at the end (as some chefs recommend) to make it creamy – it will be creamy if you don’t overcook it and if you add sufficient broth.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: Risotto
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup (4.2oz, 125gr) Arborio rice (or other rice specifically for risotto – Carnaroli or Vialone Nano)
- 1/2 cup (4oz, 120ml) red wine
- 2 1/4 cups (18oz, 540ml) beef broth
- 1/2 medium onion, chopped
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1/2 cup (2oz, 60gr) Parmesan cheese – freshly grated
- Condimenti
- 6oz (180gr) ground beef
- 6oz (180gr) cremini mushrooms, trimmed, chopped
- 1/2 medium onion, chopped
- 1 medium carrot, trimmed, chopped
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 tbs olive oil
Instructions
- Heat beef broth and keep hot over low heat.
- In medium saucepan heat 1 tbs oil over medium heat.
- Add 1/2 onion and sauté until transparent.
- Add rice and sauté stirring, for 2 – 3 minutes until rice has white center.
- Add wine and stir.
- Start condimenti.
- When wine is almost absorbed add a 1/3 cup of broth, stir.
- When broth is almost absorbed add another 1/3 cup and continue adding 1/3 cup at a time and stirring.
- Before the last 1/3 cup taste a few kernels of rice. They should be just ‘al dente’ – slightly resistant to the tooth but fully cooked.
- If more broth is needed add it 1/6 cup at a time and waiting until almost completely absorbed.
- At this point risotto will be thick but not stiff – there will still be visible liquid and it will not hold its shape on a plate.
- Stir in the Parmesan and condimenti, pour into a bowl or risotto platter and serve immediately.
- It will continue to absorb liquid and the leftovers (if any) will be very stiff.
- Condimenti
- Sauté onion and carrot in 1 tsp oil over medium heat until tender
- Add beef, breaking it up as it browns.
- Add mushrooms, paprika, reduce heat, and let cook for 5 – 10 minutes.
- Keep warm until needed.
Notes
It’s not necessary to stir constantly, just give it a good stir often. You could substitute chopped, leftover roast beef for the ground beef.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 recipe
- Calories: 637
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 978.2 mg
- Fat: 22.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 6.9 g
- Trans Fat: 0.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 62.8 g
- Fiber: 2.5 g
- Protein: 36.1 g
- Cholesterol: 65.3 mg
Keywords: risotto, red wine, mushrooms, beef

If you’re interested in other Risottos…
I use the beef / chicken / vegetable gel pots plus water for beef or chicken broth. I like them because they’re easy and I just take what I need and out the little pot in the fridge. It’s either those, bouillon cubes or make my own. I don’t have all of the options here that I had in the U.S.
I used regular ground beef. You could use course ground / chili beef if there still is such a thing, or chopped leftover beef.
I kept seeing the photos of the ice and snow that inundated Buffalo over the holidays.
Christmas day was beautiful here so we went on a bike ride.
Our neighborhood is getting very green….

Sadly, our weather isn’t at all good for the ski resorts, but I’m trying to appreciate ‘what is’ rather than wishing for ‘what should be’.
This risotto looks absolutely delicious!! But I get the champagne thing. I don’t think mine would make it into the risotto either 😉 I read an article about doing risotto in the InstantPot. I’m not sure really how that would work out, to be honest. I would think there would be a real possibility of the risotto turning into sticky rice, but that’s me.
In the words of Sonny Elliot, whom you might remember, maybe not, but he was a regionally famous weatherman, it snizzled here all day yesterday. Snow and drizzle. This morning, it’s 18 out right now. It’s supposed to be very cold this weekend though they’re being vague on whether there will be any snow or not.
Snow & drizzle…. I had the town paper route when I was a kid and I remember the days of delivering the papers in weather like that, when even the grass and crushed rock was coated in ice and impossible to walk on. Don’t miss it.
I would think the rice would be sticky – and that I could make the risotto the normal way in the time it would take the Pot to get up to pressure, cook, rest, etc. Besides, I like the cooking part.