Mushroom risotto is an excellent dish in the fall, when mushrooms can be found fresh. But you can also prepare it with dried mushrooms. The flavor of the dish won’t be affected, but the texture will since fresh mushrooms are softer. You can make it with various kinds of mushrooms as chanterelle, although porcini mushrooms will give you the best result.
Taking stock
A good mushroom risotto needs a good stock. Do not use bouillons or any flavor enhancers, the stock should be prepared with beef, preferably with bones, vegetables, aromatic herbs, and a few cloves. Put a piece of beef, like chuck, in a large pot, add a piece of beef ribs, a carrot, a peeled yellow onion, a stalk of celery, a vine tomato, parsley, bay leaves, two cloves, and pepper. Add cold water to cover everything and cook for a couple of hours over low heat. During cooking, remove the foam and grease from the surface with a skimmer. After two hours, your stock will be reduced by half. At this point, filter everything to separate the vegetables from the broth, add salt, and keep it warm.
Mushrooms: dried or fresh?
You can choose to make your risotto with fresh or dried mushrooms, although the best solution is to use both. Also, which kinds of mushrooms depend on your taste and availability. Needless to say, porcini mushrooms make the risotto more flavorful. If you have dried mushrooms you need to soak them at least 40 minutes before using them. Then squeeze them and filter the liquid, which will give your risotto a more intense flavor. Clean the fresh mushrooms by rubbing them gently with a damp sheet of paper towel, cut them into thin slices, and put them in a pan with a drizzle of oil and a clove of garlic. Cook them for 5 minutes and then remove them and set them aside without the garlic.
Rice: Carnaroli is better
At this point, you just need to prepare the risotto. Put a pat of butter and a thinly cut shallot in a pan. Let it brown and then add the rice, Carnaroli being the best type. Toast it and then add half a glass of dry white wine. Stir, let evaporate, then add the fresh and/or dried mushrooms (which have been soaked). Add half a glass of filtered mushroom liquid, and then add the boiling stock a little at a time. Stir to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom and cook for 16-18 minutes, adding boiling stock a little at a time. Once the rice is cooked, blend gently with a little butter and then serve with a sprinkling of fresh parsley. If you like, you can also add a tablespoon of Parmigiano cheese. Risotto with mushrooms is served!
Up in the gallery, our tips for a perfect mushroom risotto… buon appetito!