Mushroom risotto is something I could eat at any given time of day, it is especially good however, as a winter supper; the earthy notes combine with the creaminess of the parmesan and rice to create a gorgeous and filling dish. The subtle pang of rosemary brings some intrigue to the dish too.
It also makes for the perfect thing to serve at a dinner party as people are always genuinely impressed by a top-notch risotto.
This will make 4 small portions or 2 massive ones.
Ingredients
- 300g portobello mushrooms
- 2 shallots, finely diced
- 1 litre chicken stock
- couple sprigs rosemary
- 200g aborio rice
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 inch piece of parmesan, grated
- extra virgin olive oil, for cooking
- salt flakes and black pepper, to season
- truffle oil, to drizzle (optional)
Method
- Blitz the mushrooms in a food processor into a fine dice, or chop by hand.
- Heat some extra virgin olive oil in a pan and fry the mushrooms, making sure you’ve seasoned them well. Mushrooms are known for their shrinkage (“It shrinks?”… “Like a frightened turtle”) and will reduce drastically. Keep cooking until the liquid they’ve expelled has dried up. When cooked, turn off the heat and set aside.
- In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock with added sprigs of rosemary until it is simmering, turn down the heat.
- In a large pan, heat some extra virgin olive oil and add the shallots. Cook until they turn translucent.
- Add the rice to the pan and coat in the oil and mix with the onions, then add a ladle full of stock and stir until it is absorbed. Stirring a risotto continually is the key to a creamy risotto, as you release the starch from the rice.
- Add another ladle full of stock and continue to stir. Then add the garlic.
- Continue to cook the risotto by adding a ladle full of stock at a time and stirring until it has absorbed. The risotto is ready when the grains are fat but still slightly al dente – this may or may not use up all the stock, so don’t panic.
- When it is ready, add the cooked mushrooms and stir through. Then add the parmesan. Taste it. The parmesan will provide saltiness, however, you may need to adjust the seasoning to your palate.
- To serve, spoon into warm bowls, add a sprinkling of parmesan on top, a drizzle of truffle oil and garnish with rosemary sprigs.
