Mushroom Risotto

I love risotto in all forms, and I love making risotto. A lot of people are scared to make it at home, but it’s such an amazing dish to cook and once you cracked it, becomes so versatile. No, you don’t need a PhD in Culinary Science to make risotto, just a few little tricks and patience will do it. At the end you will be rewarded with creamy but “al dente” texture at the same time.

I’ll be honest, “stirring constantly” as many recipes suggest is an exaggeration and overkill. Just stir every minute or two while taking a sip of wine is my strategy. The rice will open up slowly and won’t become very mushy as if stirred constantly.

I love the creaminess of the rice, and the earthiness of the various mushrooms. In this mushroom risotto I used a combo of shiitake and white mushrooms. I am also using a secret ingredient – truffle honey. We found this delicious flavorful honey at our local cheese boutique and have been using it for our cheese platters. You only need a drop to completely explode your mouth with truffle flavors. I’ve used a couple of drops for this mushrooms risotto and it turned out pure heaven!

Ingredients:

1 lb mushroom mix, diced or sliced

2 cups arborio rice

6 cups beef, chicken or vegetable stock

1 leek, chopped white and light green part only

2 garlic cloves

few thyme sprigs

3 tbsp butter

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese + more for serving

1 tsp green onion or chives, diced

few drops of truffle honey (optional)

1 tbsp salt and freshly grounded black pepper

In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons of butter until foamy. Add mushrooms, season them with salt, and saute on medium-high heat until brown, for about 8 minutes. First you will see the salt is going to draw out the liquid out of mushrooms and they will boil in their own juices. But when water evaporates they are going to start frying in that butter that we originally placed in the pan.

Once mushrooms are nice and brown add chopped leeks with minced garlic to the pan and saute for another 5 minutes or until leeks are soft and translucent. Season it with freshly grounded black pepper. And at this point add rice with thyme sprigs and mix well so that every single rice is coated with butter in the pan.

Add 1/2 cup of stock and stir until the liquid is absorbed. Keep adding the stock in 1/2 cup portions at once and gently stir. This should take about 30-40 minutes until the last batch of stock is used. Mix in the parmesan cheese and a few drops of truffle honey. Give it a taste and season more with salt and pepper if required. Risotto should be slightly runny and rice creamy but with a bite to it. You are looking for a little white core inside the rice grain. If the rice grain is fully translucent and there is no white core in the centre you have overcooked it. Turn off the heat and serve with remaining butter, shaved parmesan cheese and green onions immediately.

This mushroom risotto will impress every hard core Italian foodie friend you have!