Risotto is a traditional Italian rice dish cooked with broth and flavored with parmesan cheese and other ingredients, which can include meat, fish, or vegetables. The name means literally “little rice” and it is one of the most common ways of cooking rice in Italy. This porcini Risotto is one of my favourites with the earthly and punchy flavour of the dried Cep.
Its origins are in northern Italy, specifically Eastern Piedmont, Western Lombardy, and the Veneto, where rice paddies are abundant. Risottos are made using short-grain rice (italian cultivars of Oryza sativa japonica), with the stock being added gradually while the rice is stirred constantly. The cooking technique leads the rice to release its starch, giving the finished dish a creamy texture.
- 25g dried Porcini mushrooms
- 2 shallots, finely diced
- 50g butter
- 300 g Arborio rice
- 100ml white wine
- 50g freshly grated Parmigiano
- The water the mushrooms were soaked in, strained
- 500ml chicken broth
- A bunch of parsley finely chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Soak the mushrooms in enough boiling water to cover for 30mins – strain and retain the water.
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add in a little olive oil and saute off the shallots on a medium heat until translucent
- Add rice to pan and saute for 2-3 mins, be careful not to burn the rice
- Add wine and reduce completely
- Add the stock 1 ladle at a time and reduce, stirring continuously
- After 5th ladle of stock, you can be a bit more generous with the stock
- If the heat is too high the rice will stock and burn, the stock will also evaporate too quickly, the trick here is to keep it on a medium simmer, so that the rice absorbs the stock before it all evaporates.
- Once the rice is ‘Al Dente’, add the mushroom water to loosen the risotto
- Add the parmigiano and the parsley and mix.
- Finish with a knob of cold butter for a glossy finish
- Serve with crusty bread and a nice cold glass Pinot grigio
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