Chanterelles, king boletes also known by its Italian name porcini, or pine mushrooms are amazing for this dish but you can also buy mushrooms at your grocery store like oyster mushrooms or button mushrooms. Fresh mushrooms are awesome but dried mushrooms work well too. Just soak them before using in luke warm water.
This recipe requires you to stay with your dish and repeatedly add hot liquid and stir the rice which will rub the grains at each other constantly and give it that beautiful creamy consistency of a true risotto without having to add cream of any kind. I find it kind of meditative and relaxing. You can get a salad ready at the same time of have a glass of wine! It is best to use a wide pan with a thick bottom so the heat is evenly distributed.
Ingredients:
5 Tablespoons Olive Oil (or butter)
1/2 onion cubed
1 cup Italian Arborio Rice
2 cups cleaned and cubed mushrooms of your choice (chanterelles, pine mushrooms, button mushrooms, oyster mushrooms)
4 -5 cups of hot water, hot mushroom broth, hot vegetable broth or bone broth
1/4 cup of dry white wine (optional)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated (vegan cheese as an option)
2 – 4 teaspoons of lemon juice
1 -2 teaspoons of lemon peel, grated (optional)
Heat the olive oil at medium heat in the pan, making sure it doesn’t get too hot. Wash rice in a fine-mesh strainer until water rinses out clear. Add to the heated oil in the pan and fry until rice looks a bit translucent, about 2 minutes while you heat water or vegetable broth.
Add a ladle of liquid and stir the rice. It should soak up the liquid very quickly. Then add another spoon of liquid and stir it into the rice. Whenever the rice starts sticking to the pan and the liquid is all used up add more broth or hot water.
After repeating this for about 3-4 times add your raw mushrooms and stir with the rice. For a more intense mushroom flavour add a powder of blended edible mushrooms, not medicinal as they may be bitter and not enhancing the flavour that much. Continue adding more liquid until the rice has the right consistency. It should be “al dente”, still having some texture to it not all mushy.
chanterelles home made blended mushroom powder
At the end add the lemon juice to taste, more butter or olive oil, grated Parmesan and fold it under the rice.
Serve decorating it with more parmesan cheese, a bit of lemon peel and season with freshly grated pepper and coarse sea salt. You can also add some fried mushrooms to decorate.
Serve with a green salad, maybe adding some radicchio or mustard greens for a slightly bitter refreshing addition. I prefer a simple vinaigrette: olive oil, balsamic vinegar or lemon juice, salt, and pepper, and a hint of something sweet like maple syrup or honey.
Variations:
Use asparagus instead of mushrooms, or a mix of vegetables like peas, carrots, or artichokes or go for a lemon risotto by using more lemon juice and lemon peal, or add saffron for a beautiful yellow colour. Get creative and give it your own touch! Traditionally Risotto is a first course like pasta and will be served before the main course. It’s a primo piatto after the antipasti and before the secondo piatto. It’s also a great way to cleanse your palate in between courses.
Enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: Do not pick just any mushrooms and eat them! Make sure they are edible or purchase them at your local grocery store! Otherwise it might be your last meal!