Mushroom Risotto

At the heart of a good risotto dish is a good rice and my personal favourite is Arborio rice. It has a good percentage of soluble starch which is what gives risotto a nice creamy finish when it is cooked. Arborio rice is grown in the Po Valley in Piedmont, Italy. Other risotto rices are Roma, Padano, Carnaroli, Baldo and Vialone Nano.

Also integral to a dish of risotto is a good stock. If you have time to make your own chicken stock, so much the better. I used commercially prepared chicken stock this time, flavoured up with white wine and a slosh of cognac.

There is no need to rush out and look for dried wild mushrooms from France. I used them only because I had them, and I augmented them with some cultivated white mushrooms. I often use dried porcini mushrooms to give fresh mushrooms more intensity and these would work well in this dish, too.

I also added pumpkin to the dish, more for the colour contrast than the flavour as I didn't have a particularly large chunk of it in the fridge.

Mushroom Risotto

2 cups Arborio rice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, finely sliced
25g dried mushrooms, soaked in boiling water for an hour
2 cups sliced cultivated mushrooms (brown or white)
1 cup skinned diced pumpkin
750ml chicken stock
200ml dry white wine
2 tablespoons cognac (optional)
2 bayleaves
handful torn basil
1/2 cup shaved parmesan cheese

Place the chicken stock, wine and cognac in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Turn back heat to a simmer and add the bayleaves.

Drain the soaked mushrooms and rinse them well to remove any gritty bits. Discard the soaking water. Slice the cleaned fresh mushrooms thickly and saute with the dried, drained mushrooms in a little butter or olive oil until floppy. Any juice can be poured into the stock. Set aside until required.

Heat the oil in a deep frypan. add the rice and cook for about five minutes until it starts to brown. Add the onion and saute until tender then add the pumpkin. Pour in a ladle of hot chicken stock and simmer, stirring from time to time, until the liquid evaporates. Continue in this fashion, adding the stock a ladleful at a time until it is used up and the rice is tender but still a little firm or al dente in the centre. Arborio rice takes approximately 18-20 minutes to reach this stage. The rice should by now be moist and creamy. Stir in the mushrooms and reheat. Sprinkle over the torn basil and stir through the parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

Great with a nice chilled chardonnay as the buttery flavour complements the rice and mushrooms.