This rosemary mushroom risotto is creamy, luxurious, and incredibly satisfying, this dish is a quintessential classic. There are many different variations out there and one of the more popular combinations is with mushrooms and peas. Sounds good to me! In my vegan rendition, since we are not adding any dairy cheese or cream, I like to create a strong depth of flavor with mustard and miso (a trick I learned while working as a server in a restaurant in NYC). The tang from the mustard and cheesiness from the miso works wonders for the creamy rice known as ‘Arborio’. My other secret weapon is rosemary. This powerful herb offers a very strong savory flavor that is earthy and robust. It works beautifully with rice and mushrooms. In regards to risotto, I think people are intimidated, but I am here to prove to all of you that it’s really not that bad! Matter of fact, it’s quite simple. The most important ingredient is time. Instead of cooking the grains in one large amount of water all at the same time, you slowly add it, little by little. The rice slowly absorbs the liquid and the result is a luxuriously creamy dish. The key here is to only add a warm liquid so that it cooks perfectly. That’s why you heat up the vegetable broth before cooking. As for the veggies, I like to add asparagus and blanched fava beans for a nice crunch and variation in texture, but you could add whatever vegetables you like. Frozen peas work beautifully! When making this rosemary mushroom risotto, I recommend serving it immediately as that’s when it’s best. A crusty piece of bread works as the perfect vehicle to help scrape the sides of bowl- just sayin’.