Really, really, really good Mushroom Risotto

So I've managed to tear myself away from George - finally! And to get the (traditional) full slow food cooking experience, I decided a risotto was in order.

I also had some wonderful stock that I wanted to put to good use, as well as some porcini mushrooms and a lovely large hunk of Chilli Romano cheese that I picked up at Northbridge Continental on the weekend.

I do have to admit that the stock was a by-product of the crockpot.... it was courtesy of my first attempt at doing Corned Silverside and it was just too good to dispose of, so I froze it with a nice risotto in mind. And strangely it worked amazingly well with the porcini mushrooms. The result was a lovely rich risotto with a really interesting depth of flavour. And it's such a good excuse to do another Silverside next time I see it on special!

And as I mentioned to A today, I really don't like a reheated risotto - it is something about the texture and the glugginess that doesn't fare so well the next day. However I don't mind a bit of cruch.... so I managed to throw together some tasty little risotto cakes with the leftovers. How sensible and decadent!

Porcini & Fresh Mushroom Risotto

1 10gm packet dried funghi porcini
1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
1 cup hot water, more if needed
2 cups of stock (I used ‘beef’ from the silverside but any could be used)
1 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
2 cups arborio rice
1 sprig rosemary
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 tablespoon butter
Cheese to taste (I used Chilli Romano)

Soak the mushrooms in the cup of hot water for about 20 minutes.

Chop the onion and fry it off in half the olive oil (a good tablespoon). When it starts going translucent, add the garlic and sauté. Add the remaining oil, then the rice and stir until well coated and the rice starts to turn clear.

Meanwhile pop stock and wine in a saucepan and bring to a simmer.

Drain the mushrooms, reserving the liquid to add to the simmering stock. Chop mushrooms finely and add to rice.

Add a cup of the hot stock to the rice and stir, stir away until it absorbs. Continue adding stock and stirring. Keep adding, tasting as you go....

After about 10-15 minutes, add the sprig of rosemary and fresh mushrooms.

Continue cooking, stirring and stocking until the rice is done to your liking.

Remove the rosemary and discard. You may find you need to add more liquid at this point if you have run out of the stock mixture (I added some hot water as the risotto was already lovely and rich).

Finally add the butter, cracked pepper and a bit of cheese – stirring until it all goes creamy and gooey and yummy. Serve up with some freshly grated cheese on top. Yum!

For Risotto Cakes / Balls:

With wet hands (trust me on this), roll the leftover rice into small balls, then coat in flour, dunk in egg and roll in breadcrumbs and add to a pan of hot olive oil. Cook until crispy and lovely and then drain on paper towels.

Tasting Notes:

• This was just lovely. I think the stock made the dish - I'll post the Corned Beef recipe for the ingredients.


• The rosemary was an impromptu addition and it worked marvellously; it gave a lovely fresh taste to the richness of the porcini.


• The Chilli Romano also matched really well, giving a nice hint of heat.


• I never usually add butter at the end, however this was a special treat and it was entirely worth it.... I'm not sure I could go back to not adding butter!