Wild mushroom risotto

Like yesterday promised today’s foodporn is wild mushroom risotto. I totally promise this is the simplest risotto you’ll ever make. Oh, if the wild mushrooms are out of season or your local market has run out of them or you just don’t feel like going to the forest you can use the cultivated ones that you get from supermarkets (best are oyster mushrooms, but you can use portobello mushrooms and even champignons, though when using the latter ones then I recommend adding some ground dried wild mushrooms into the mix).

Wild mushroom risotto

What you need:

wild mushrooms (plenty, I guess about 300 g)
cup (200 ml) of risotto rice (I prefer arborio)
glass (200 ml) of white wine
couple of slices smoked bacon (vegetarians out there can leave this out)
one vegetable stock cube
big cup (250 ml) of water
some leek
parmesan cheese (I’d say 50 g)
salt
pepper
olive oil (I use extra virgin olive oil)
parsley

What to do:

Prep the stuff. Clean mushrooms and if you use big mushrooms (like boletus type mushrooms) cut them up a little. Chop the bacon into small pieces, do same with the leek. Grate the parmesan. Boil the water and drop the veggie stock cube into the hot water, mix. Now you’re ready to cook!

Heat the pan (I recommend using a regular wok pan) and throw in the bacon. Fry the bacon until crispy. Add some olive oil (couple of splashes). Pour the arborio rice in with the bacon and fry until rice is white and opaque. Now it’s time to add leek and mushrooms. Fry until the water from mushrooms is vaporised. Pour in the white wine. Stir well. After wine is reduced start adding the vegetable stock by pouring 2/3 of the cup straight into the mix. Lower the stove’s heat to medium. Stir a lot. Keep stirring and tasting the rice. When it is still too hard add more stock. Stir. Repeat this until the texture of the rice is like the italians call it al dente. If you run out of the stock just add hot water. When the rice is al dente (avoid overcooking! it is still risotto not porridge, if you’re doubting in the end just turn off the heat as it is probably done and if not the risotto keeps cooking for a little when its hot) add some pepper and tad of salt to taste (be careful with the salt, as the stock from the cube has salt in it and the parmesan that is coming is also a little salty). Now stir in majority of the grated parmesan. You should end up with a nice textured risotto that is a little gooey but the rice still has a very soft crunch to it.

Plate the risotto. Sprinkle it with the leftover parmesan and scissor some parsley on it. Lastly drizzle it over with some extra virgin olive oil. Voilà!

Bon appétit!