Wild Mushroom Risotto (Made With Dried Porcini)

If you've never used porcini mushrooms before- do it now, they are amazing! They have a unique umami flavour, as well as numerous health benefits. They are rich and earthy with a distinctive savoury, nutty flavour. Even the smallest amount added to soups or stews can be a game changer. To top it off, they are high in protein, iron and fibre.

This risotto is quick and easy, it's pretty much just chopping, measuring, stirring and keeping an eye on the timer.

I have to confess to one thing before someone calls me out on it- this is a cheat recipe, I don't make risotto the ''proper'' way. ''Proper'' way means stirring the rice ALL THE TIME. The more you stir, the more starch is released by rice and more starch means more creamy risotto. I like to stir my risotto every 2-3 minutes while I clean the kitchen or prepare a desert. The end result is a little less creamy, but I'm adding parmesan anyway and so, there isn't that much of a difference. And really... who has the time to stand still and stir continuously for 30 minutes?

Dried porcini mushrooms can be difficult to get, not to mention expensive. Before you try ordering online, check your local health food stores, organic stores and Italian grocery stores. If you have access to Eastern European shops, that's your best option. I got my porcini from a Polish store. As you can see in the picture, there is no English translation, which will most likely be the case if you buy porcini in foreign shops. Most packaging will have a Latin name, so look for words Boletus edulis. That's important to remember because there are many varieties of dried mushrooms and they are not interchangeable.

First of all, you have to rehydrate porcini. Place your mushrooms in a container, pour boiling water over them and place an item on top to push them down, so they stay submerged. I soaked mine in a narrow measuring jug and put a glass inside to keep them down. They will soak for 20-30minutes. During that time you will be able to prep the rest of the ingredients and start cooking.

Once your porcini are rehydrated, use a slotted spoon to fish the mushrooms out. Rinse them and chop them into small pieces. Reserve the water and pass it through a sieve, we will add it to the broth for extra flavour.

While porcini are soaking, use that time to prep the rest of the ingredients.

1. slice mushrooms
2. dice an onion
3. mince garlic
4. prepare broth (if using cubes)
5. measure out rice
6. cut asparagus into small pieces, keep asparagus tips separate (if using peas, just measure them out)

Here's the most important step and you absolutely can't skip it: Once you've fished porcini out of water, you have to rinse them very, very well. You will also have to strain porcini water through a fine sieve. Wild mushrooms are cleaned before they are dehydrated, but they can still have some leftover dirt from the forest floor. Rinsing them while dry won't work much, so you have to rinse them once they are rehydrated. Last picture shows what's left after straining porcini water through a fine sieve. You will end up with gritty risotto if you skip this step.

Heat olive oil in a large, deep pan or a wok. Fry mushrooms on medium heat for 8-10 min until they have shrunk in size and browned. Push them to the side of the pan. Add onion and a pinch of salt. If needed, add more olive oil. Cook until onion is translucent, don't let it brown too much.

When onion is cooked through, mix it with mushrooms, add chopped porcini and minced garlic and fry for 2 minutes on medium head. Keep stirring. Add all rice into the pan, stir well and fry for 2-4 min.

After 2-4 minutes of frying the rice, you will be ready to add broth. Pour approximately 400 ml broth and leftover porcini water from soaking. Stir well, cover with a lid and cook over medium low heat. Set a timer for 12minutes. Stir every 2-3 minutes.

Risotto rice cooks in 20-25 min, not a precise science, so you will have to taste the grains to determine if it's ready.

At this point you will have cooked the rice for 12 min. Add more broth now, 200ml to start with, you can always add more later. If you are using asparagus, add it to the pan now. Stir it, cover with a lid and continue cooking for 5-6 minutes. Add asparagus tips, stir, cover and cook for 3-5 more minutes. If risotto is too dry and/or rice is not yet cooked through, add more liquid and keep cooking. Taste the rice and if it's soft enough, take it off the heat.

If you are using peas, add them 5 min before the end of cooking.

Add cream, parmesan and parsley, stir it well, add salt and pepper if necessary.

Cover the pan with a lid and leave it off the heat for 5-10 min. We want the rice to absorb any residual liquid before serving.