Mushroom Risotto with Mixed Wild Mushrooms
Creamy Carnaroli rice with browned button and portobello mushrooms, soaked dried mushrooms for depth, and a final emulsion of cold butter and cheese.
The step that decides this recipe happens off to the side, in a second pan: the mushrooms are fried separately and without salt. Salt draws water out of them, and a mushroom that gives up water boils instead of browning — it comes out grey and soft rather than meaty. Adding them raw to the rice gives exactly the same result.
And the salt only goes in during the second half of the cooking, because the stock and the cheese already bring their own, and by the end there is no fixing the rice.
Ingredients
- 400 g Carnaroli rice
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 20 button mushrooms, quartered
- 10 portobello mushrooms, quartered
- 15 g dried mushrooms (porcini), soaked in hot water
- 1 litre hot chicken stock
- 150 ml white wine
- 80 g cold butter, in cubes
- 2 handfuls of grated cheese
- Olive oil, salt, black pepper and chopped fresh parsley
Method
- 1
In a wide, shallow pot, soften the onion with a little olive oil and butter until translucent. Add the garlic and the rice; cook over low heat until the grains are glossy.
- 2
In a separate, very hot pan with oil, brown the button and portobello mushrooms. Do not add salt while they fry, so they do not give up their water and can brown properly. Set aside.
- 3
Pour the white wine over the rice and cook until the alcohol has completely evaporated.
- 4
Add 2 or 3 ladles of hot stock. Stir often so the rice releases its starch, making sure the grains are always just submerged.
- 5
Stir in the fried mushrooms and the soaked dried mushrooms. The soaking water can go into the stock, and it is worth doing because a good part of the flavour is in it: lift the mushrooms out with your hand rather than tipping the bowl, strain the liquid and leave the last finger of it behind — that is where the grit the dried mushrooms brought with them settles.
- 6
Carry on adding stock as the rice absorbs it, stirring from time to time. Season only in the second half of the cooking, after about 10 minutes.
- 7
When the rice is al dente (about 18-22 minutes), take it off the heat. Add the parsley, the cold butter and the grated cheese. Beat energetically to emulsify and reach the final creaminess.