Today we’re making mushroom risotto. Far from being some fancy and complex dish, this can be simple comfort food and here’s now I make it with minimal effort and maximum flavour…
INGREDIENTS
Mushrooms:
Dried porcini mushrooms
Mixed fresh mushrooms (I used a combination of Chestnut, Oyster & Shiitake)
Flavour and aromatics:
Garlic
Shallots
Oregano
Cayenne pepper
Risotto basics:
Butter
Arborio rice (or another similar variety)
Vegetable stock
White wine (if you don’t drink – just use water)
Italian hard cheese (I used Parmigiano Reggiano but a vegetarian type or Pecorino also work)
Everything else:
Sour cream
Chives (optional topping)
TIPS & NOTES
For this recipe, to keep the mushrooms firm and not soggy or boiled, we are actually dry frying them. I clean my mushrooms, pat them dry and leave them to dry off fully on some kitchen roll or a tea towel a little before I start preparing to cook. Dry frying involves adding the mushrooms to a medium-hot pan without any oil and just a little salt to draw out all the moisture so it can evaporate. Any pepper and a little oil for browning can be added once the water has evaporated off. This stops the mushrooms absorbing oil and becoming ‘wetter’ and helps keep them firm.
Personally, I like a firmer risotto but – by all means – if you prefer a looser texture, you can simply add in more water during the process to adjust the texture.
Mushroom Risotto
A simple, very mushroom-y risotto
Ingredients
- 150g special variety mushrooms (I used shiitake and oyster – slice roughly / tear apart by hand)
- 100g chestnut (or button) mushrooms (sliced)
- 4 cloves of garlic (grated, pressed or finely chopped)
- 1 shallot (finely chopped)
- 1 tsp of dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried paprika
- 10g of butter
- 1 stock cube dissolved in 2 cups of water immediately before use
- 1/2 a cup of white wine (optional – use extra stock if you don’t have this)
- 10g dried porcini mushrooms
- 1 cup of aborio rice
- 1 tbsp of sour cream
- 30g of Italian hard cheese (finely grated)
- 2 sprigs of chives (sliced)
- A drizzle of olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Add 1/2 a cup of boiled water to a bowl with the porcini mushrooms and set aside
- To a large, wide-based pan over a medium-high heat, add the fresh mushrooms (you may need to do this in two batches so they aren’t piled up) with salt only and no oil – cook until the moisture is released and evaporates off (up to 10 minutes), at which point you can add salt and a little oil to cook for a few more minutes to brown – set aside once done
- In the same pan (dont worry if there are burnt bits on the bottom – we’ll lift those up later), add a drizzle of olive oil and once warmed, add the garlic and shallot and cook for a couple of minutes until fragrant – season with salt and pepper then add the paprika and oregano and toast for a minute
- Add the rice and toast in the oil, dried herbs and aromatics for a couple of minutes
- Add the white wine, reduce the heat to medium-low, and this will loosen the burnt bits from the bottom and allow the wine to cook absorb and the alcohol to cook off, stirring occasionally
- Add the porcini mushrooms and water as stock, again, allow this to mostly absorb with occasional stirring
- Mix the vegetable stock and add in 4 parts, allowing it to absorb almost entirely each time and stirring occasionally – this should take 15-20 minutes in total and the rice should be cooked but still firm and a little ‘al dente’
- Stir your cooked mushrooms back through, reduce the heat to low and add the butter, cheese and sour cream – stir through and cook for another couple of minutes until the butter is melted and you have a creamy risotto
- Serve topped with the chives
Let me know if you try my take on mushroom risotto!
See how I make it here:
But First, Food 
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