Mushroom Risotto

Mushroom Lover’s Delight – Risotto with four different kinds of mushrooms

This is my first time cooking risotto, a traditional Italian rice dish. So while the result is not perfect (I think it should be a little bit more watery in consistency), I think it isn’t too shabby for the first time. The taste is good. In fact, this is my second time eating risotto too (first time, I bought instant risotto so I guess that doesn’t count :P) I’ve yet to order risotto outside but I intend to, one day, just for my personal research & comparison. Although I’ve never eaten risotto cooked by a professional before I attempted cooking it at home, I’ve seen countless recipes about risotto and hence I was keen of giving it a go. I think this will be another staple on our dinner table. I can’t wait to try other variants of risotto so more risotto recipes to come :)

4 mushrooms for my mushroom risotto – shitake, hon shimeiji, white oyster & willow.

Tips for cooking risotto
– Use risotto rice such as arborio (most common), Carnaroli or Vialone Nano. They are high starch, medium grain rice.
– Do not wash rice before cooking, it will wash away the starch that makes risotto so blissfully creamy.
– Use hot stock for adding to the risotto. If you run out of stock, add boiling water.
– Add stock by the ladle & stir continuously till it is fully absorbed by the rice, before adding the next ladle.
– Perfectly cooked rice is rich and creamy but still with some resistance or bite: al dente, and with separate grains.
– After the rice is cooked, take the risotto off the heat, put a lid on and leave the risotto to relax for about 3 minutes before serving.

Ingredients
(Serves 2)

Risotto recipe from Jamie Oliver’s basic risotto recipe, mushroom recipe my own

(A) Mushrooms
– 150g of assorted cut mushrooms (do not use button mushrooms)
– knob of butter & 1/2 tbsp olive oil
– some parsley
– freshly cracked black pepper

(B) Risotto
– 400ml hot chicken stock (can substitute with vegetable stock to make this vegetarian)
– 1 cup (150g) unwashed arborio rice
– 1 tbsp olive oil
– sea salt
– 1 stalk of celery, finely chopped
– 1/2 large onion, finely chopped
– 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
– 1 glass dry white wine
– 30g grated parmesan cheese
– 30g butter

Directions

(A) Mushrooms
Melt butter in pan. Add olive oil. Add mushrooms to pan and fry till they are cooked and have absorbed the butter. Add parsley, black pepper and toss evenly. Set aside on a plate.

(B) Risotto
1. In a heated pan, add olive oil. Saute the celery, onions and garlic over low flame without colouring/burning till everything is soft (about 10 minutes).
2. Add rice and turn up the heat. Add the white wine and keep stirring till the wine has cooked into the rice. The alcohol will be evaporated, leaving behind the aroma of the wine.
3. Turn down the heat. Add your first ladle of hot stock and a good pinch of salt. Turn down the heat to a simmer.
4. Add stock one ladle at a time, stirring continuously until each ladle of stock is absored. Use boiling water if you run out of stock.
5. Carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite. This will take around 25-30 minutes.
6. Take the risotto off the heat and check the seasoning. Stir in the butter and the parmesan. You want it to be creamy and oozy in texture, so add a bit more stock if you think it needs it. Put a lid on and leave the risotto to relax for about 3 minutes.

Plating
Serve the cooked risotto in a dish and topped the risotto with the previously cooked mushrooms (A). Sprinkle some grated parmesan cheese, freshly chopped parsley (I didn’t have fresh on that day so I use dried) and extra virgin olive oil.

Mushroom Risotto