Perfect mushroom risotto
The secret to a perfect mushroom risotto is keeping a creamy, almost soupy texture at the end, and not over-cooking it to stodge. Feel free to use a mix of mushrooms depending on what's available. Wild mushrooms have a more distinctive flavour, but cultivated chestnut or portobello mushrooms are still very good.
Ingredients
- 1.2 litre/2 pints chicken stock or vegetable stock (fresh stock is best, but you can make it with 2 good quality stock cubes)
- 15g/½oz dried porcini mushrooms (or dried mixed mushrooms)
- 200g/7oz mixed mushrooms, such as chestnut, oyster, or wild mushrooms
- 75g/2½oz unsalted butter, cubed
- 1–2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 250g/9oz carnaroli or arborio risotto rice
- 100ml/3½fl oz dry white wine
- 50g/1¾oz freshly grated Parmesan (or similar vegetarian hard cheese), plus extra to serve
- small handful flatleaf parsley, chopped
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Add the chicken (or vegetable) stock and dried mushrooms to a large pan and bring to a simmer.
To prepare the mixed mushrooms, finely chop any cultivated mushrooms (such as chestnut or portobello), and tear any wild mushrooms into small pieces to keep an interesting shape and mix of textures.
Melt a third of the butter in a frying pan over a medium–high heat. Fry the mushrooms with the garlic until they are golden brown and any watery juices have evaporated. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Gently fry the shallot until softened, but not browned. Add the rice, stir to coat in the oil and cook for 3 minutes. Add the wine to the pan and cook until absorbed completely.
Start adding the hot stock, one ladle at a time (if you don’t have a ladle, you could use a mug), allowing each ladle to be almost completely absorbed before adding the next. Stir the risotto regularly to prevent it from sticking and to help it cook evenly.
When the rice is creamy but retains a little bite, turn off the heat and stir in the remaining butter and Parmesan and cover with a tea towel for 1 minute. The risotto should have a flowing texture, not stodgy and stiff.
Add the cooked mushrooms and the dried mushrooms from the stock to the pan. Stir, adding a little more stock as needed to loosen to a slow-flowing consistency. Taste and season with salt and black pepper.
Serve finished with chopped parsley and extra grated Parmesan.
Recipe Tips
Carnaroli rice will make a creamier risotto, but is a bit more expensive than arborio. Vialone nano is another good choice, if you can find it.
If you don't have wine, or don't want to cook with it, you can add a tsp of white wine vinegar instead and increase the amount of stock by 100ml/3½fl oz. Alternatively, if you have any soured cream, you can stir in 1-2 tablespoons right before serving to give that rich tangy flavour.