Mushroom and Truffle Risotto

SUMMARY

Mushroom and truffle risotto. Comfort food at its best and super simple - mushrooms, garlic, onion and thyme, parmesan. If you wanted it to be Veganuary friendly you could use vegan parmesan and if you wanted to have a dry jan you could use more stock instead of wine. You took the former option January is depressing enough...

Slut this up to the max with some freshly grated truffle.

RECIPE

• STEP 1

  
  

  Firstly, rehydrate the shiitake mushrooms in 300ml of boiling water and leave to sit for 40 minutes. In the meantime you can prep the other ingredients. Once the mushrooms have softened, remove from the water (do not discard the stock) and squeeze out any excess liquid, pat dry with a paper towel and rough chop.

  
  

• STEP 2

  
  

  Heat a few glugs of olive oil in a large heavy based pan on a medium to high heat, once hot, add the shiitake mushrooms along with a pinch of red pepper flakes. Fry for 5-8 minutes or until golden and add the chopped garlic for the final minute. Transfer the mushrooms to a dish as these will be added to the risotto later.

  
  

• STEP 3

  
  

  Using the same pan fry off your onion with a knob of butter, add salt, a generous pinch of coarse black pepper. Stir until the onion is softened then tip in the risotto rice along with the glass of wine. Turn up the heat and let the liquid reduce down until absorbed then holding a sieve over your pan pour in the reserved mushroom stock. This will catch any sediment that has fallen to the bottom of of your jug.

  
  

• STEP 4

  
  

  Add a few sprigs of dried thyme. Adjust the heat to medium and let the stock cook down till mostly absorbed, keep stirring the rice so it remains loose and creamy. Now add the chicken stock bit by bit, add approximately half a cup or so at a time and again cook through until mostly absorbed stirring all the while. Repeat this process until the risotto rice is cooked through but still retains a bite, you may not need all of the chicken stock.

  
  

• STEP 5

  
  

  Towards the end of cooking return the mushrooms to the pan and fold through until warm. Turn off the heat and add 50g of cheese and a swirl of truffle oil, mixing until the cheese is melted.

  
  

Recipe credit

Nat-a-Cake