Vale’s Mushroom Risotto

Serves 4 / Difficulty – Medium / 10 minutes prep & around 30 minutes cooking time.

This is the best mushroom risotto I have tasted, which is lucky as it’s made by my wife and she would know if I was lying every time she asks me ‘how was it?’.

Ingredients

200g exotic mushroom mix such as shiitake, oyster, maitake

1 vegetable stock cube

2 tablespoons of olive oil

3 shallots finely chopped

50g of dried porcini mushrooms

300g of risotto rice such Gallo Arborio rice which you can buy at Tesco

Half glass of white wine

25g of butter

Teaspoon of flour

75ml of milk

50g of parmesan

Handful of chopped parsley leaves

Method

1. Add the dried porcini mushrooms into a large bowl and cover with boiling water, leave for 20 minutes, then drain and set aside
2. Crumble 1 vegetable stock cube and make a saucepan of stock.
3. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil into a large saucepan or deep frying pan over a medium heat. Add the finely chopped shallots then fry for about 5 mins until soft.
4. Tip the risotto rice into the pan and cook for about 1 min until the rice starts to become opaque. Pour over the white wine and let it evaporate.
5. Pour in a quarter of the stock and add the mushrooms, both shiitake and porcini and stir often.
6. Keep adding the stock until the rice is plump and cooked with no crunch. Take off the heat and set aside.
7. Melt the butter in a small saucepan the add the flour, stir and then add the milk and whisk quickly until you have a thickened sauce.
8. Add the sauce to the risotto with half the grated cheese and stir.
9. Tip the risotto into two bowls and top with the rest of the grated cheese and the parsley.