Mushroom Risotto
Ah yes, risotto, the heart of northern Italian regional cooking. Before I lived in the Veneto and, later, Lombardy, my exposure to risotto was limited to long-grain rice (often saffron yellow) with a ramshackle assortment of diced vegetables in it. Probably out of a 1970s packet. (Not that my larder contains food QUITE that out-of-date – rather that I was likely to have first been presented with that sort of thing somewhere in the food doldrums of that decade in England). Enough to put you off for life. Luckily, I went to Italy, was re-educated, and now risotto holds a thousand memories for me in that deliciously unctuous flavour-packed carbohydrate mix that is a true Italian risotto.
So where do we begin? What are the secrets to a perfect risotto? Well, to start with, you need the right rice: Carnaroli, Vialone Nero or Arborio (the most easy to find in the UK – but if you are desperate, pudding rice will do too). Rice crops are a staple of the flatlands of the river Po Valley which stretches across Northern Italy from Lombardy in the west, to Veneto in the east. As you track along the autostrada in spring, you could be forgiven for thinking you are in China…endless vistas of bright green shoots poking through rectangles of water reflecting the wide skies and the mountains behind. The other key thing about risotto is to keep stirring. This coaxes the starch out of the grains and provides the creamy texture you are looking for in the perfect risotto. Dry is not good. When the rice is aldente (after about 20 minutes of continuous cooking and stirring), it should be put in shallow based bowls, where it will spread gently to the sides, and eaten immediately. Leave it too long in the pan, even off the heat, and it will continue cooking and drying out, so that you are left with something far claggier and really not very pleasant.
So, this being Autumn and the season of funghi and all things earthy, it seemed a good idea to do a mushroom risotto (another joy of risotto being the infinite variety of seasonal ingredients you can match it with – peas, asparagus, squash, pumpkin, radicchio to name but a few). It helped that I had two packets (Buy One Get One Free) of mushrooms in my fridge when the moment took me as well as some rich chicken stock which has been made from the weekend roast.
This is what you need:-
unsalted butter
olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed or chopped
2 cups risotto rice
¾ pint (400ml)stock
¼ pint (100ml) white wine
Marsala (or medium dry sherry)
c.400g mushrooms
chopped parsley
grated parmesan
1 egg yolk
salt and pepper
And this is what you do:-
Slice or chop about 400g of clean mushrooms. Rummage around in your cupboards and find your best, most heavy based saucepan. Pour in a good slug of olive oil (extra virgin or normal) and add an unhealthy sized knob of real butter (unsalted for preference and butter substitutes simply won’t do) and warm them on a low heat. Meanwhile, take a medium sized onion (white is traditional but if all you have is red, that will do fine) and chop it finely. When the butter has melted and the combined fats are warmed, add the chopped onion. Allow it to go transparent . Chop or crush a couple of peeled chunky garlic cloves and add them to the onion. Now add two cups of risotto rice (see above) – this will be more than enough for two people as a main meal. Select your favourite long wooden spoon and start stirring, gently coating the rice grains with the fat, onion and garlic.
Do this for a minute or two before adding about 250ml of white wine (about a glass full). Let the rice absorb this, continuing to stir gently. Add a little salt and pepper at this point (less if you are using a stock cube rather than fresh stock – good quality fresh stock is preferable though) and the sliced mushrooms. Because this is a mushroom risotto, I add a slug of Marsala or Amontillado sherry at this point. [If you were doing something fresher or lighter, like an asparagus risotto or a fish risotto, I would substitute the Marsala/sherry for dry vermouth. Both these spirits just add an extra dimension to the finished flavours – but, if you have neither of them it is not the end of the world. Just add more wine instead!]
Make up your stock now if you are using a cube (3/4 pint) or put the same quantity of fresh stock in an adjacent pan to heat through. When the wine has been absorbed, you will need to start adding the stock, about a ladle full at a time. Stir, wait till the rice has absorbed the liquid, then add another ladle full. Continue like this until all the stock has been absorbed.
I happened to have some dried porcini mushrooms in my store cupboard, so I took a handful, soaked them for a few minutes in boiling water and added them (and a small amount of the soaking water) to the rice. If you don’t have them, it’s not the end of the world, but they are a nice addition if you do.
Now, here come the crucial touches that add to the layers of flavour. Just before all the stock has been absorbed, chuck in about a cupful of grated parmesan (the ready grated will do just fine if that’s all you have – but FRESH ready-grated mind, not any of that dreadful processed sawdust stuff which would RUIN it!). Stir it in. And then, to really add to the creamy intensity of the risotto, take the yolk of an egg and add that at the last minute, stirring lightly so it coats all the rice.
Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary (the parmesan should have added considerably to this, so don’t go overboard with the salt beforehand). If in doubt, add more parmesan rather than just more salt. Then take another unhealthy knob of unsalted butter, drop it into the rice and stir. This gives the risotto a lovely gleam when you put it in the bowls and, again, adds an extra layer of flavour and richness.
Ladle the risotto into shallow bowls, grate more fresh parmesan on the top, add a scattering of freshly chopped flat-leafed parsley, grind over some black pepper and, for the final flourish, get your best best best extra virgin olive oil and drizzle over the risotto in the bowl.
Mmm, delish. The ultimate comfort food on a chill autumn night, ideally washed down with a hearty glass of northern Italian red wine – Valpolicella, Dolcetto d’Alba, Barbera d'Asti, Bardolino or Barbaresco all spring to mind.
Buon appetito!
So where do we begin? What are the secrets to a perfect risotto? Well, to start with, you need the right rice: Carnaroli, Vialone Nero or Arborio (the most easy to find in the UK – but if you are desperate, pudding rice will do too). Rice crops are a staple of the flatlands of the river Po Valley which stretches across Northern Italy from Lombardy in the west, to Veneto in the east. As you track along the autostrada in spring, you could be forgiven for thinking you are in China…endless vistas of bright green shoots poking through rectangles of water reflecting the wide skies and the mountains behind. The other key thing about risotto is to keep stirring. This coaxes the starch out of the grains and provides the creamy texture you are looking for in the perfect risotto. Dry is not good. When the rice is aldente (after about 20 minutes of continuous cooking and stirring), it should be put in shallow based bowls, where it will spread gently to the sides, and eaten immediately. Leave it too long in the pan, even off the heat, and it will continue cooking and drying out, so that you are left with something far claggier and really not very pleasant.
So, this being Autumn and the season of funghi and all things earthy, it seemed a good idea to do a mushroom risotto (another joy of risotto being the infinite variety of seasonal ingredients you can match it with – peas, asparagus, squash, pumpkin, radicchio to name but a few). It helped that I had two packets (Buy One Get One Free) of mushrooms in my fridge when the moment took me as well as some rich chicken stock which has been made from the weekend roast.
This is what you need:-
unsalted butter
olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed or chopped
2 cups risotto rice
¾ pint (400ml)stock
¼ pint (100ml) white wine
Marsala (or medium dry sherry)
c.400g mushrooms
chopped parsley
grated parmesan
1 egg yolk
salt and pepper
And this is what you do:-
Slice or chop about 400g of clean mushrooms. Rummage around in your cupboards and find your best, most heavy based saucepan. Pour in a good slug of olive oil (extra virgin or normal) and add an unhealthy sized knob of real butter (unsalted for preference and butter substitutes simply won’t do) and warm them on a low heat. Meanwhile, take a medium sized onion (white is traditional but if all you have is red, that will do fine) and chop it finely. When the butter has melted and the combined fats are warmed, add the chopped onion. Allow it to go transparent . Chop or crush a couple of peeled chunky garlic cloves and add them to the onion. Now add two cups of risotto rice (see above) – this will be more than enough for two people as a main meal. Select your favourite long wooden spoon and start stirring, gently coating the rice grains with the fat, onion and garlic.
Do this for a minute or two before adding about 250ml of white wine (about a glass full). Let the rice absorb this, continuing to stir gently. Add a little salt and pepper at this point (less if you are using a stock cube rather than fresh stock – good quality fresh stock is preferable though) and the sliced mushrooms. Because this is a mushroom risotto, I add a slug of Marsala or Amontillado sherry at this point. [If you were doing something fresher or lighter, like an asparagus risotto or a fish risotto, I would substitute the Marsala/sherry for dry vermouth. Both these spirits just add an extra dimension to the finished flavours – but, if you have neither of them it is not the end of the world. Just add more wine instead!]
Make up your stock now if you are using a cube (3/4 pint) or put the same quantity of fresh stock in an adjacent pan to heat through. When the wine has been absorbed, you will need to start adding the stock, about a ladle full at a time. Stir, wait till the rice has absorbed the liquid, then add another ladle full. Continue like this until all the stock has been absorbed.
I happened to have some dried porcini mushrooms in my store cupboard, so I took a handful, soaked them for a few minutes in boiling water and added them (and a small amount of the soaking water) to the rice. If you don’t have them, it’s not the end of the world, but they are a nice addition if you do.
Now, here come the crucial touches that add to the layers of flavour. Just before all the stock has been absorbed, chuck in about a cupful of grated parmesan (the ready grated will do just fine if that’s all you have – but FRESH ready-grated mind, not any of that dreadful processed sawdust stuff which would RUIN it!). Stir it in. And then, to really add to the creamy intensity of the risotto, take the yolk of an egg and add that at the last minute, stirring lightly so it coats all the rice.
Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary (the parmesan should have added considerably to this, so don’t go overboard with the salt beforehand). If in doubt, add more parmesan rather than just more salt. Then take another unhealthy knob of unsalted butter, drop it into the rice and stir. This gives the risotto a lovely gleam when you put it in the bowls and, again, adds an extra layer of flavour and richness.
Ladle the risotto into shallow bowls, grate more fresh parmesan on the top, add a scattering of freshly chopped flat-leafed parsley, grind over some black pepper and, for the final flourish, get your best best best extra virgin olive oil and drizzle over the risotto in the bowl.
Mmm, delish. The ultimate comfort food on a chill autumn night, ideally washed down with a hearty glass of northern Italian red wine – Valpolicella, Dolcetto d’Alba, Barbera d'Asti, Bardolino or Barbaresco all spring to mind.
Buon appetito!
Comments