for 2 people
2 dl risotto rice (arborio)
approx. 5 dl mushroom stock ( I used 2 stock cubes)
salt & pepper to taste
1 small yellow onion
1 garlic glove
2 tbsp oil (any oil will do just as long as its not too over powering)
1 dl dry white wine (or dry vermouth)
approx. 2/4 dl parmesan
approx. 400gram of mixed mushrooms (e.g., shiitake, champignons, portobello, chanterelle, black trumpet/black chanterelle)
optional - drizzle of truffle essence/oil or extra virgin olive oil
optional - 2 small handfuls of ruccula, lightly dressed in a mix of olive oil & lemon juice plus a little grind o pepper.
1. Begin by cleaning the mushrooms with kitchen paper, don't wash, they will get slimy and soggy and in my opinion loose their woody taste. As they say in Sweden a little dirt will clean your stomach, this pertaining to earth dirt from the woods which is where we hope the mushrooms are grown, not dirt from a city street.
2. Boil the water for the stock, adding the stock cube(s) to the boiled water.
3. There are 2 ways of preparing and cooking the fresh mushrooms, either you chop them up into about 2x2 cm pieces and add them to the stock water, I have just recently learned this method and it works, the flavors are intensified, despite the mushrooms being in water! the other option is to fry the mushrooms in a dry pan on a medium heat, till they begin to 'sweat', water comes out of them. Once the sweating has evaporated add a little knob of butter, let the mushrooms fry in the butter till they have become soft and shiny from the butter. If you happen to have some rosemary, parsley or thyme handy add this last, not a must. If you drop the mushrooms into the stock keep them from being added to the risotto till the last 5min of cooking. If you fry the mushrooms, add them to the final stage, after the parmesan.
4. Chop your onion and garlic and fry on a low heat in the oil. Once they have become glazed and soft add the risotto rice, allow to fry till it becomes transparent, add oil if the rice sticks to the pan.
5. Add the wine/vermouth, allow this to simmer and begin to evaporate. This should take no longer than 1-2 min, stir slowly, so the rice doesn't stick to the pan. Allow is necessary so that the alcohol evaporates.
6. Pour 1 dl stock into the rice. This is the part when you need to keep stirring and adding water when ever the rice starts to look 'dried out' or rather when the liquid you have poured in has soaked into the rice. This process takes about +/-20 min. If you need more liquid add some regular water, you might also end up not having to use all the stock. The trick is not to pour too much stock each time, approx. 0.5 dl. This is what makes the rice silky and smooth and creamy. Tasting is a must around the 18 min mark, some love their risotto 'al dente' some like it cooked through.
7. Once the risotto is to your liking, in consistency, add the parmesan, turn off the heat, stir. If yo have some parsley chop it roughly and add it. Add salt if you think necessary and a few grinds of pepper. if yu have some herbs such as
8. add the mushrooms as described above, if they were fried add them after the parmesan, if they were soaked in the stock add them to you last 5min of cooking the rice.
9. Once you have plated the the risotto, I love to add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, or truffle essence/oil and then a small handful of ruccula thats been dressed very lightly in olive oil, lemon juice and pepper.
Tip, you can also use dried mushrooms, then just add these to your stock, usually there is a little residue of sand that will drop to the bottom of the stock, so when getting to the end of the stock leave the last bit.
If you are going for another risotto without mushrooms use either chicken or veggie stock. Adding various herbs at the end just before adding the cheese is recommendable as long as the herb suits the other ingredients.
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