Name: Delicate mushroom risotto
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 3-4 tbsp olive oil; 4 tbsp butter; White truffle oil, a few drops; A good splash of dry white wine; 2 garlic cloves, crushed with salt; 2 shallots, finely chopped; 2 sprigs of thyme; Fresh parsley, chopped; A handful of rocket leaves, to serve; 700 ml chicken stock (warm); 50 g dried porcini mushrooms; 400 g shiitake or wild specialty mushrooms, coarsely chopped; 1 slice of black truffle; 50 g block of parmesan, grated (keep some back for serving); 300 g arborio rice; Salt and pepper, to taste

The best mushroom risotto I have ever eaten turned up on a work trip to Rotterdam. Pale, glossy, faintly perfumed with truffle. I have been chasing that bowl ever since, which meant cooking with a few mushrooms I had never used before. The sourcing turned out to be half the fun.

A take on a classic risotto in the spirit of Theo Randall and Marco Pierre White. Hot stock, patient stirring, restraint with the truffle.

A white bowl of pale mushroom risotto topped with rocket leaves, parmesan, and a shaving of black truffle. — The Rotterdam bowl, redone at home. Rocket lifts the finish without crowding the mushroom.

The non-negotiable bit is the stirring. The starch in arborio rice only releases when the grain is moving against itself in hot stock. Cold stock and a low stir gives you a pan of rice in liquid. Hot stock and a constant stir gives you risotto.

Sourcing the mushrooms

The shiitake and wild specialties are the flavour. The dried porcini are the depth; soak them in chicken stock for 20 minutes and the soaking liquor becomes part of the cook. If you cannot find the specialty mushrooms, chestnut or portobello work; the dish loses a touch of the perfume but holds the structure.

A wooden board with a small pile of dried porcini, fresh shiitake mushrooms, parmesan, parsley, a clove of garlic, and a slice of black truffle. — Mise en place. The dried porcini are at the back; the truffle stays in its wrap until the very end.

Close-up of fresh shiitake and wild specialty mushrooms on a chopping board, gills facing up. — Texture you can feel through the lid. Keep the chop coarse; the mushrooms shrink hard in the pan.

The recipe

Delicate mushroom risotto

Serves 2

Prep 20 mins

Cook 25 mins

Total 45 mins

Ingredients

3-4 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp butter
White truffle oil, a few drops
A good splash of dry white wine
2 garlic cloves, crushed with salt
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 sprigs of thyme
Fresh parsley, chopped
A handful of rocket leaves, to serve
700 ml chicken stock (warm) 1¼ pints chicken stock (warm)
50 g dried porcini mushrooms 1¾ oz dried porcini mushrooms
400 g shiitake or wild specialty mushrooms, coarsely chopped 14 oz shiitake or wild specialty mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 slice of black truffle
50 g block of parmesan, grated (keep some back for serving) 1¾ oz block of parmesan, grated (keep some back for serving)
300 g arborio rice 10½ oz arborio rice
Salt and pepper, to taste

Method

Warm 700 ml of chicken stock and keep it on a low heat at the back of the hob. Hot stock from start to finish.
Soak the dried porcini in 200 ml of the warm chicken stock for 20 minutes. Drain and keep the soaking liquor for later.
While the porcini soak, finely chop the parsley, garlic, and shallots. Grate the parmesan, keeping some back to finish.
In a frying pan over medium heat, warm 1 tsp olive oil with a knob of butter. Cook the chopped fresh mushrooms for about 5 minutes to drive off the water and intensify the flavour.

Drive the water out of the fresh mushrooms before the porcini join them.
Add the drained porcini and cook for a further 3 minutes. Finish with a few drops of truffle oil, seasoning, and a sprig of thyme. Lift into a bowl and set aside.
In the same pan over medium-high heat, warm 1 tsp olive oil with a knob of butter. Sweat the garlic and shallots for 2 minutes until soft.
Add the arborio rice and stir for 4-5 minutes until each grain looks glassy at the edges.
Pour in a good splash of white wine and stir until fully absorbed (2-3 minutes).
Ladle in 100 ml of the warm stock. Stir until absorbed, then repeat. Keep stirring; keep ladling.

One ladle at a time. Stir, wait, stir again.
When the rice is almost al dente, pour in the reserved porcini soaking liquor.
Shave a few slices of black truffle into the pan. Return the cooked mushrooms with the thyme and parsley.

Truffle and parsley, ready for the last five minutes.
Add the last of the stock in small ladles, stirring for a further 15 minutes.
Off the heat, beat in the parmesan and the final two knobs of butter. Cover and rest for two minutes.
Stir once before plating. Top with rocket, a final grating of parmesan, and one more shaving of truffle.

Topped with parmesan, rocket, and a final shaving of truffle. The rocket lifts the truffle off the plate.

One very delicious delicate mushroom risotto. The Rotterdam version is still better, but only by a shaving.

Notes

Hot stock is the whole trick. A cold ladle drops the pan temperature, the rice stops releasing starch, and the risotto goes from creamy to gluey. Keep the stock pan on a low simmer for the whole cook.
Restraint with the truffle. A few shavings is the dish. A whole slice grated through it becomes a different (and louder) dish.

Inspiration worth watching

I leaned on two chefs in particular while working this one out.

Theo Randall on risotto technique: the patient stirring and hot stock that do the real work.

Watch on YouTube - Theo Randall & Aaron Craze

Marco Pierre White’s classic wild mushroom risotto - the restraint at the end is the lesson.

Watch on YouTube - Marco Pierre White

The trick is not the truffle. It is the patient stirring, the hot stock, and the restraint at the end.