Last week I was craving mushroom risotto – perhaps it was after recently indulging in Society Bistros risotto at Taste of Cape Town that inspired my palate... Under my husbands persuasion and the fact that I found dried porcini mushrooms at my local Spar, I had no more excuses, and so, set to work.
The mushroom risotto was well received both at home and at work, and as a few people have asked for the recipe, here it is:
Serves 4 good helpings
- 2 to 3 tablespoons dried porcini mushrooms
- 1 brown onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil (plus extra if necessary)
- 500g mixed mushrooms (I used 250g button mushrooms, 250g portabellini or brown mushrooms)
salt and freshly ground pepper
- 350g arborio rice
- 150ml dry white wine (Chardonnay and mushrooms are good friends)
- 2 cubes of chicken stock dissolved into 800ml boiling water
- 1 tablespoon butter
- fresh thyme and parsley
- freshly grated Parmesan
Soaked the porcini mushrooms in a cup of boiling water for at least 10 minutes.
In the meantime, fry the onion and garlic in olive oil in a large pot or heavy-based pan until softened over a medium heat.
Add the mixed mushrooms and fry until lightly browned, season with salt and pepper.
Add the raw rice and stir to coat with the mushrooms and olive oil.
Pour in the wine and simmer, stirring, until the liquid has been absorbed.
Drain the porcini mushrooms, reserving the liquid, and set aside.
Add the mushroom liquid to the rice. Stir until absorbed and then start adding the chicken stock, a ladleful at a time, ensuring that the stock is absorbed by the rice before adding the next ladleful.
Continue adding the stock in this way, until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is plump and tender. Make sure the rice is not too sticky or mushy. You may not want to use all the stock. I only used about 600ml of it in the end.
Once you are happy with the consistency, roughly chop the now-hydrated porcnini mushrooms and stir them into the rice mixture.
Add the butter and stir through. Add the roughly chopped herbs and freshly grated Parmesan, stirring through. Serve with some extra Parmesan and herbs for garnish.
Enjoy!!
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