Mushroom Risotto
Arborio rice toasted dry in butter, then built up ladle by ladle with hot stock and mushrooms, finished off heat with cold butter and parmesan. No cream. The creaminess comes entirely from the starch in the rice — that is the whole point of the technique. It takes about 18 minutes of actual cooking once the rice goes in, and you cannot really walk away from it.
Ingredients
- 320 gArborio or Carnaroli rice
- 500 gcremini or mixed mushrooms
- 15 gdried porcini mushrooms
- 1.2 lhot vegetable or chicken stock
- 1 pieceshallot
- 2 piecegarlic cloves
- 150 mldry white wine
- 60 gcold butter
- 60 gparmesan
- 2 tbspolive oil
- 1 tspsalt
- ½ tspblack pepper
- 1 tbspfresh parsley
Method
- Soak the dried porcini in 200ml of warm water for 20 to 30 minutes. Drain, reserving the soaking liquid — filter it through a fine sieve or paper towel to remove grit. Chop the porcini. Add the strained liquid to your stock and keep the whole thing warm on a low burner.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a wide pan over high heat. Add the fresh mushrooms in a single layer. Do not stir for 2 to 3 minutes — they need contact with the hot pan to color. Stir, add the chopped porcini, salt and pepper. Cook another 2 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- In the same pan over medium heat, melt half the butter with the remaining olive oil. Add the finely diced shallot and cook for 3 minutes until soft. Add the minced garlic for 1 minute. Add the rice and stir for 2 minutes until the grains turn translucent at the edges — this is the toasting step (tostatura). The rice should smell faintly nutty.
- Pour in the wine. Stir until fully absorbed, about 2 minutes. Now add the hot stock one ladleful at a time, stirring frequently after each addition. Wait until each ladle is almost fully absorbed before adding the next. Keep the heat at a steady medium simmer — not boiling hard, not barely warm.
- After about 14 minutes, stir the mushrooms back in. Continue adding stock for another 4 to 5 minutes until the rice is al dente: tender but with a very slight bite. The mixture should look loose and flow slowly — not stiff.
- Take the pan off the heat. Add the cold butter cut into small pieces and the grated parmesan. Stir vigorously for 30 seconds until the butter melts into the rice and the whole thing becomes glossy and creamy — this is the mantecatura. Season, scatter parsley, and serve immediately in warm bowls. Risotto waits for nobody.
FAQ
Usually two things. The rice was not toasted dry before adding liquid — the tostatura step makes the grain hold its structure during cooking, without it you get porridge. The stock was added in too large amounts or all at once — risotto needs gradual addition so the rice absorbs liquid and releases starch at the right pace. Also: the heat was too high. Risotto should simmer gently, not boil hard. Gluey instead of creamy usually means either overcooked rice or stock added too quickly.
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Comments (2)
Ризотто с грибами мое любимое блюдо! Стояла мешала 40 минут но оно тогостоит. Сыр пармезан обязательно настоящий а не тот что в пакетиках. Получается крмеовое, нежное, просто тает ворту.
Finish cooking the arborio in the sauce, not in the water. Those last 2 minutes of simmering together create a bond between grain and sauce that plating separately never achieves.