A mushroom risotto can be taken in many different ways, depending on what kind of mushrooms you have and whether they are introduced at the very beginning of cooking or just added at the end, as I’m going to do here. The inspiration for this recipe came when I was in Japan and saw mushrooms being cooked completely dry on a barbecue or griddle pan. This way of cooking brings out a really fresh and nutty flavor in them; perfect for being dressed lightly with olive oil, salt and lemon juice or stirred into a risotto at the last minute before serving.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr 5 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Cook: | 45 min |
| Yield: | 4 to 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 6 1/3 cups chicken stock
- Handful dried porcini mushrooms
- Olive oil
- 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 sticks celery, trimmed and finely chopped
- 14 ounces risotto rice
- 2/3 cup vermouth or white wine
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 large handfuls wild mushrooms (try chanterelles, shiitake, black trumpet or oyster – definitely no button mushrooms, please!), cleaned and sliced
- Few sprigs fresh chervil, tarragon or parsley, leaves picked and chopped
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 handfuls freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
- Extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Heat stock in a saucepan and keep it on a low simmer.
- Place the porcini mushrooms in a bowl and pour in just enough hot stock to cover. Leave for a couple of minutes until they’ve softened. Fish them out of the stock and chop them, reserving the soaking liquid.
- In a large pan, heat a glug of olive oil and add the onion and celery. Slowly fry without coloring for at least 10 minutes, then turn the heat up and add the rice. Give it a stir. Stir in the vermouth or wine – it’ll smell fantastic! Keep stirring until the liquid has cooked into the rice. Now pour the porcini soaking liquid through a sieve into the pan and add the chopped porcini, a good pinch of salt and your first ladle of hot stock. Turn the heat down to a simmer and keep adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring and massaging the starch out of the rice, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next. Carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite. This will take about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, get a dry griddle pan hot and grill the wild mushrooms until soft. If your pan isn’t big enough, do this in batches. Put them into a bowl and add the chopped herbs, a pinch of salt and the lemon juice. Using your hands toss everything together – this is going to be incredible!
- Take the risotto off the heat and check the seasoning carefully. Stir in the butter and the Parmesan. You want it to be creamy and oozy in texture, so add a bit more stock if you think it needs it. Put a lid on and leave the risotto to relax for about 3 minutes.
- Taste your risotto and add a little more seasoning or Parmesan if you like. Serve a good dollop of risotto topped with some grilled dressed mushrooms, a sprinkling of freshly grated Parmesan and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 529 |
| Total Fat | 20 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Carbohydrates | 68 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 5 g |
| Protein | 14 g |
| Cholesterol | 22 mg |
| Sodium | 959 mg |
Reviews
Love Love Love. Made it 3 times this month!
beautiful risotto
With patience and improvisation, this turns out to be a great dish. Risotto is a very forgiving dish with endless variations, so before you go out and buy each ingredient needed for this dish, think about what you have that you can improvise with. No vermouth or white wine? Add some white wine vinegar (smaller amount) or sherry instead. The possibilities are endless. The one thing I wouldn’t sacrifice on though is the freshly grated parmesan. Don’t use that prepackaged stuff.
This was, not only a joy to prepare but to consume! I also really appreciate Jamie’s attention to the essence of the elements…I substituted 1/3 mushroom stock and was unprepared with the herbs, so used some dried savory and still it was just fabulous. I served it with some flash boiled asparagus, with a little butter and salt and pepper…totally satisfying! I used oyster and shitake but would like to experiment with chanterelles too. I loved it and I’ve eaten a few mushroom risottos, just can’t say enough about the dry grilled mushrooms tossed with lemon and salt and herbs to top–a fantastic complement and contrast to the creamy risotto….thanks Jamie for the elegance in your simplicity!
I love the creaminess and freshness of the parmesan and lemon at the last second. This dish is so hearty it works well as a main dish or a side. Jamie’s simple approach to cooking and teaching us how to cook makes him one of my favorite chefs to watch on the Food Network. Thanks!
The use of the wild mushrooms is fantastic. His technique for the risotto is perfect. This is a wonderful dish!
I love Jamie. Not only is he cute, but also his cooking style is great! I don’t even like mushrooms or chilies for that matter, and his wild mushroom episode and hot peppers episode had me trying his recipes. Now, I’m going to make risotto… =)
Best risotto I have ever had! With the lemon, herb and grilled mushroom addition at the end, it gives the risotto a combination of a nice refreshing bite while the risotto is full of rich flavor.
Vivian, CT
Vivian, CT