Recipe: Mushroom Risotto

By theadmin

Mushroom risotto is the perfect earthy, wintry dish. It takes some time but the effort is low — mostly spooning and stirring — and the result is well worth the wait. You can skip the mushroom topping, but it adds a salty, crunchy finish that elevates the dish.

Ingredients:

For the risotto:
8 cups mushroom broth
3/4 cup dried porcini
1/2 white onion, minced
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup white cooking wine
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup Parmesan, plus extra to serve
Salt and pepper to taste

For the topping:
2 tablespoons olive oil
12 ounces maitake or oyster mushrooms
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup butter
2 sprigs of thyme
2 garlic cloves, crushed

Method:

Keep mushroom broth over low heat. Meanwhile, soak dried porcini mushrooms in 2 cups of water for 10 minutes. Remove mushrooms, reserving the water, and mince.

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and crushed red pepper, sweating slowly until soft and golden, around 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic, season with black pepper, and cook until garlic is golden, about another 3 minutes. Add rice and mix until well coated.

Turn heat to medium-high and add cooking wine. Add reserved mushroom water and continue to cook. Continue adding broth 1/2 cup at a time, adding more when the liquid is absorbed and stirring the whole time, until rice is al dente. Reduce heat as needed as time goes on. (This takes around 45 minutes.) Add a final 1/2 cup of broth and butter and reduce heat to medium-low; stir until butter is melted and absorbed. Mix in Parmesan a handful at a time. Season risotto with salt and pepper to taste.

Start the topping when you’re about 10 minutes from finishing the risotto. Heat olive oil in another skillet over medium-high heat and cook mushrooms, chopped into large pieces if necessary, in a single layer until they are golden brown underneath. Add salt and pepper to taste and toss, cooking until golden brown. Reduce heat and add butter, crushed garlic, and thyme, cooking for 5 more minutes, until the butter is absorbed.

Remove mushrooms with a slotted spoon and serve over risotto. Top with black pepper and Parmesan to taste.

Make your risotto wilder by foraging for your mushrooms.