Porcini mushroom risotto
Ingredients:
- Rice (320 g)
- Porcini (400 g)
- Vegetable stock (1.2 L)
- Onion (50 g)
- Butter (40 g)
- Parmesan (60 g)
- Olive oil (1 tbsp)
- Garlic (1 clove)
- Parsley (5 g)
- Salt
- Pepper
Method:
A risotto worth sitting down for
Porcini give this risotto a deep woodland flavour and tender, meaty pieces to find among the rice. Allow about 40 minutes. Cooking the mushrooms separately first lets their moisture evaporate, so their flavour reaches the plate without making the rice watery. This recipe serves four. Set out the ingredients before you start and use Carnaroli or Arborio rice, without rinsing it: its starch is what makes the risotto creamy.
Before you start
Keep the stock hot. Trim the dirty bases from 400 g fresh porcini, clean them with a damp cloth and cut into slices and bite-sized pieces. Finely chop the onion and parsley; lightly crush the peeled garlic clove.
Build the flavour
Heat the oil with the garlic in a frying pan. Add the porcini and cook over medium-high heat for 6–8 minutes, turning gently, until tender and their liquid has evaporated. Remove the garlic and set the mushrooms aside. In a wide saucepan soften the onion in 20 g butter for five minutes, then add the rice and toast for two minutes.
Cook the rice
Add hot stock a ladle at a time, keeping the rice at a gentle, steady simmer. Stir regularly, sweeping the bottom of the pan, and add more liquid when the previous ladle is mostly absorbed, before the rice dries out. Start tasting after 15 minutes; most risotto rice needs 16–20 minutes from the first stock addition. It should be tender with a little resistance in the centre. You may not need all the stock; if it runs out, use hot water.
Fold in the cooked porcini for the final five minutes of rice cooking. Keep a few attractive pieces aside if you would like to put them on top.
Finish and serve
Take the pan off the heat and stir in the remaining 20 g cold butter and 60 g finely grated Parmesan until glossy. Fold in the parsley and add any reserved mushrooms to the plates.
Taste for salt and pepper, then leave to rest for two minutes. Loosen with a splash of hot liquid if needed: the risotto should spread gently across a warm plate when you tap it, rather than sit in a stiff mound. Bring everyone to the table before serving; this is a dish that rewards being eaten straight away.