Mushroom risotto recipe - Alesimplerecipes.com

Mushroom risotto: Preparation and cooking
Preparing risotto doesn’t take more than about 20 minutes of your time. Once you’ve finished reading this article, you’ll feel confident making a delicious mushroom risotto and wowing your guests. This recipe doesn’t require any special skills—just follow the steps!

Key points for this mushroom risotto recipe (things to know before you start)

This recipe serves 4 people.
Preparation time: 15 minutes.
Cooking time: around 25 minutes.
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients for a mushroom risotto

350 grams of Italian Arborio rice. This rice is thicker than basmati and takes a bit longer to cook, but it gives the risotto the right creamy texture
250 grams of chopped fresh chestnut mushrooms
A handful of fresh parsley leaves, chopped
1 Litre of vegetable broth, made with 1 vegetable stock cube and 1 litre of boiled water. If you like a stronger vegetable flavour, you can use 2 stock cubes instead of 1. Some cubes have a stronger flavour than others, so it’s up to you. For example, OXO stock cubes are quite mild, while Maggi or Star cubes have a bolder character.
50 grams of dried mushrooms; I recommend using Porcini mushrooms for a better result and richer taste
150 ml of dry white wine. It’s important to use only dry wine, not sweet wine, otherwise it will spoil the taste. Good grape varieties include Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, or Chardonnay.
60 grams finely grated Italian Parmesan cheese, plus 10 grams for serving
1 clove of garlic
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tea spoon of butter

How to prepare the dry mushrooms, the fresh mushrooms and the garlic
Place the dried Porcini mushrooms in a large bowl or container and pour over 1 litre of boiling water to soak them. Keep the soaking water with the porcini inside instead of wasting it; you’ll add it to the risotto later, along with the vegetable broth. Crumble the vegetable stock cube/s into the mushroom liquid, then gently stir the liquid till you see the cube is dissolved.

Clean the fresh mushrooms thoroughly, then pat them dry with a kitchen towel. After that you need to slice them finely and set aside.

Remove the garlic skin and finely mince it.

Cooking the mushroom risotto

Now you have all the ingredients ready, heat a large saucepan over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Stir in the chopped onions for max 1 minute or less. You need just to make them golden not fry them.
Add the Arborio rice and stir until the grains become translucent around the edges, cooking for about 1 minute until they start to take on a light golden colour too.
Pour in the white wine and let it bubble until it has almost completely evaporated (about 1 minute), so the alcohol cooks off.

Reduce the heat to medium‑low

Begin by adding the liquid from the dry mushrooms and vegetable stock a little at a time. The rule is simple: add just enough liquid to cover the risotto. Once it is covered, stop and let it absorb, then repeat once again.

Remember: 1. Do not stir the rice and 2. Do not cover the pot with a lid.

After the second time you poured the liquid from the dry mushrooms and vegetable stock, you can add the sliced fresh mushrooms. You can now stir gently and add more liquid to cover better the ingredients.

How to know when the risotto is ready?

The rice is now softer and the liquid is reduced. You also see a creamy texture. If this is the case, turn off the hob.

Finishing and serving the mushroom risotto
To add more creamy texture, add the butter and stir the rice. Add now 60 grams of grated Parmesan cheese and stir it again. If needed, a small pinch of salt if the stock didn’t add the salty. You can also add the chopped parsley leaves to the mix. You can keep it a small quantity of those and “sprinkle” them on top once you served the rice on the dish.

Serve immediately, garnished with extra grated Parmesan cheese if desired.

If you’d like more advice or extra tips, feel free to leave a comment below. I’d be glad to help you make this mushroom risotto the highlight of your meal!