Wild Mushroom, Leek, Sun-dried Tomato Risotto

Man, how did I get to be 38 years old before discovering risotto? Especially when you can cook it in the pressure cooker so quickly and easily.

I was looking through my cupboard, trying to figure out what to cook this weekend. You know, with full-time work, and this being a $40/week month, it was getting hard. For one thing, our freezer and pantry were a little low - partly because I stopped buying meat of any kind, so there was none to fall back on. And partly because March was the third $40/week month of the year.

But I saw a little baggie of arborio. Now, I know that I didn't have asparagus, peas, or goat cheese like my last risotto (made on a flush month). But I did have this little bag of dried wild mushrooms from Trader Joe's. So I googled "pressure cooker mushroom risotto", and found a blog that mentioned a recipe, from none other than Vegan with a Vengeance (love this book!) Now, I altered this recipe a lot, based on what I have in the pantry. But it was still good!

Wild Mushroom, Leek, Sun-dried Tomato Risotto
1.5 c. arborio rice: 1.96
3 T. canola oil: 0.12
1/4 c. sun dried tomatoes in oil, chopped: 0.67
2 cloves garlic, minced: 0.10
2 large leeks, chopped and soaked in water to remove dirt: 1.50 (just a guess)
1 small pkg dried wild mushrooms: 2.00
6 c. water (Free)
1 T. veggie stock bouillon: 0.25
1/2 tsp salt, pepper to taste
fresh or dried thyme and rosemary
Total: $6.60 for 6 cups, or $1.10 per serving.

Rinse mushrooms and drain.

Mix 6 c. water and stock flavoring in a saucepan. Bring to simmer. Add mushrooms and simmer 2 min. Remove from heat, use slotted spoon to remove mushrooms. Let cool and chop. Save the stock.

Scoop leeks out of soaking water and drain on a towel.

Saute leeks in 1 T. oil in pressure cooker until soft. Add garlic and rice and remaining oil, saute a couple of minutes. Add 3.5 cups stock, herbs, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, salt and pepper.

Bring to boil. Put cover on pressure cooker. Bring to high heat, reduce heat to low enough to maintain pressure. Cook at high pressure 5 min.

Reduce pressure quickly under the faucet. Remove lid and stir. Yum!