summit extra pale ale & mushroom risotto

If you are an expert on risotto you might want to close this post now.

I am no expert on risotto and have no clue if this dish should even be called risotto. But I did and it's done.

Still here?

If you are, you are in for a mushroomy treat.

The other day we had some beautiful looking portobellos in the fridge crying out to be eaten. I was planning on making grilled portobello burgers again, but randomly got an urge to whip up a risotto dish.

Maybe it was the fresh six pack of Summit Extra Pale Ale our Hy-Vee ordered in especially for us lonely Minnesotans transplanted deep into Iowa.

Beer + Mushrooms = Summit + Minnesota

Things that naturally go together.

summit extra pale ale & mushroom risotto 
The use of brown rice (and probably not medium grained - gasp!) makes for a nice, chewy, nutty risotto. Beer replaces the wine (gasp!) and cheese is no where to be found (gasp!) in this amazing recipe. This may not be a traditional way to serve it, but it will be served again in the PS household!



In the mix::

• 2 portobello mushrooms - clean and cut into cubes
• splash olive oil
• 1 cup diced sweet onion
• 2 large cloves garlic - minced
• 1/4 t red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup brown rice
• 1/2 cup Summit Extra Pale Ale (or beer of your choice, but Summit is AWESOME!)
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 1 t dried parsley
• salt and pepper to taste

In a medium pot, heat olive oil. Saute onion, garlic and red pepper flakes until fragrant and onion softens. Add rice and stir until rice begins to brown, about 3 minutes.  Add Summit and stir until mostly absorbed.

Now comes the fun part - add veggie stock 1/4 cup at a time, stirring frequently until mostly absorbed. Continue adding stock until rice is cooked through and creamy. I think this took me about 45 minutes - one hour (I forgot to time it).

Stir in parsley and add salt and pepper to taste.



Using brown rice lent a nice chew to the final dish, and using beer rocked my socks off. Next time, I might up it from 1/2 to 1 cup of beer to allow for the nuttiness to shine through a bit more at the end.

Serve with a cold crisp bottle of Summit Extra Pale Ale (duh!) and some roasted broccoli.



Mushrooms + beer = the best flavor combination in my book! This dish got four thumbs up and was a total kitchen experiment win.

Me thinks Summit Brewing Company should feature this dish on their website! :)