A risotto built on porcini stock and heavily browned mushrooms. Browned well, mushrooms bring enough savoury depth that even committed carnivores won’t miss the meat.
Roasted Mushroom Risotto
Ingredients
- 275 g button/chestnut mushrooms
- 75 g oyster mushrooms
- 1 large onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 25 g dried porcini
- 200 g arborio rice
- 100 ml dry white wine
- 40 g parmesan
- 80 g unsalted butter
- 20 g rocket leaves or watercress optional
- olive oil, salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
For the Risotto
- Chop the dried porcini into small pieces with scissors. Pour 1.25L of boiling water over them in a measuring jug and let them steep while you prep everything else.
- Finely chop 200g of the button mushrooms, the whole onion, and 2 cloves of garlic. Reserve separately.
- Cut the remaining button mushrooms into bite-sized pieces (or leave whole if small). Tear the oyster mushrooms into bite-sized pieces by hand.
- Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the onion, season with salt, and cook 4-5 minutes until softened but not browned.
- Add the minced mushrooms, turn the heat to high, and season with salt. Stir constantly, they’ll release a lot of moisture and reduce considerably.
- Once most of the moisture has cooked off, reduce to medium, add the minced garlic, and cook 2-3 minutes, stirring.
- Add the rice, reduce to low, and toast for 2-3 minutes, stirring, to coat it in the mushroom mixture.
- Increase to medium, add the white wine, and let it reduce while stirring.
- Once nearly reduced, add a third of the porcini stock along with the soaked porcini. Stir gently to separate the rice.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until the liquid has reduced by half.
- Add another third of the porcini stock and continue cooking, stirring occasionally.
For the Sautéed Mushrooms (run alongside the risotto)
- Preheat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat.
- Add the remaining button mushrooms, drizzle lightly with olive oil, season with salt, and let them sit undisturbed for 2 minutes.
- Lightly crush an unpeeled garlic clove. Add a tablespoon of butter, 2 sprigs of thyme and the crushed garlic. Baste the mushrooms in the foaming butter until well browned. Season with black pepper and a few drops of sherry vinegar.
- Once cooked, stir most of the mushrooms into the risotto, reserving a few for garnish.
- Wipe the pan and repeat with the oyster mushrooms.
Finishing the Risotto
- Add half the remaining stock to the risotto and cook, stirring, until nearly all the liquid has reduced.
- Taste for seasoning and doneness. If the rice still has crunch, add more stock and keep cooking. Season lightly, you’ll add salty parmesan later.
- Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the rice is tender with a little bite and the surrounding liquid is thick and starchy. Loosen with a splash more stock if it looks dry.
- Turn off the heat and let the risotto sit for 1 minute.
- Stir in the remaining butter and grated parmesan off the heat until both emulsify into the rice.
- Serve immediately on warm plates, topped with the reserved sautéed mushrooms, more parmesan, black pepper, and rocket.
Equipment
- Scissors
- Chopping board
- Chef’s Knife
- Pot
- Rubber Spatula
- Measuring cylinder
- Sauté pan
- Microplane
Recipe Notes
From the Chef
The base of flavour here comes from plenty of porcini stock and a lot of well-browned mushrooms. Get a proper sear on them and they bring enough meatiness that even the most devoted carnivore at your table won’t miss the meat.