MUSHROOM RISOTTO
Risotto is the ultimate comfort food- warm, creamy, full of flavor, and your options are unlimited! The only issue is that it’s an intimidating dish to try at home. I hope you never let that deter you from trying. Trial and error are the best ways to learn in the kitchen.
MUSHROOM RISOTTO RECIPE makes 2-4 servings
INGREDIENTS
2 cups arborio rice
8 cups of chicken stock
10 oz of mushrooms of choice (I prefer oyster, trumpets, or portobellos in a pinch)
1 oz dried mushrooms (porcini is best, shiitake is most commonly available)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup grated or shredded parmesan
2 tbsp of black truffle preserves optional but very highly recommended
6 cloves of garlic
1 large shallot
1 sprig of fresh thyme + 1/2 tbsp minced thyme
6 tbsp unsalted butter cold
olive oil
parsley minced
DIRECTIONS
Once you start cooking the risotto rice it requires all of your attention, so begin all your knife cuts (also known as mise en place) and prepare the stock and mushrooms all beforehand.
Starting with the stock, bring the chicken stock to a light boil. Add your dried mushrooms and turn off the heat. Let them soak and infuse the stock with flavor.
Mice 4 cloves garlic, leave 2 cloves whole but smash it with the base of your palm to release its oils, mince the shallot, and 1/2 tbsp of thyme. Cut your mushrooms into bite sized pieces.
In a medium-large sized shallow pot, heat up 2 tbsp of olive oil on medium high. Add the two smashes garlic gloves and sautéed until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the chopped mushrooms and sautée 1 minute. Add 2 tbsp of butter and the intact sprig of thyme. Sautee everything together to infuse the flavors into the mushrooms until they are just barely tender. Remove the mushrooms from the pot and set aside.
Revisit the stock. Give it a taste to see if the flavor of the dried mushrooms has infused into the chicken stock. If it has, you can use a slotted spoon the remove the mushrooms. Keep the stock on med-low heat, you never want to cook risotto with cold stock.
Let’s begin the risotto. To the same medium sized shallow pot, now wiped clean, heat the olive oil on medium high. Add the minced garlic, shallots, and 1/2 tbsp of thyme- stirring frequently with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula. When the shallots are translucent, 2-3 minutes, add the arborio rice.
Fry the rice until it is all coated in oil and toasted, 2-3 minutes. Add the white wine, stirring and letting the alcohol cook off. Keep cooking it down until the rice is almost dried. This will happen pretty quickly. Season with a generous pinch of salt.
Using a large ladle (approx. 1/2 cup in volume), add stock to the rice until it is fully covered. You don’t want it drowning in stock so stop just when the liquid is floating above the top of the rice. Stir the rice as much as possible.
Repeat step 8 two more times. After the third time, add your previously cooked mushrooms and keep stirring. Moving the arborio rice makes it release its starches, creating that signature risotto creaminess.
Add 2 tbsp of cold butter as well as the parmesan and mix. At this point you’ll want to taste the risotto both for flavor and doneness. You will continue adding stock one ladle at a time at this point until the rice kernels are al dente. Stir the rice and allow it to absorb all the liquid before adding any more. A perfect risotto will hold its shape if you run your spoon straight across the pan to make a “path”. It should be creamy but not too tight, dry, or clumpy.
Finally, finish off with 2 more tbsp of butter, black truffle preserves if using, and parsley.
