worldwide recipe: mushroom risotto with garlic thyme and parsley

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Mushroom Risotto with Garlic Thyme and Parsley

approx. 1 litre/ 2 pints vegetable stock

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 finely chopped shallots or 2 medium onions

1/2 head of celery, finely chopped

Sea salt & black pepper

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

400g/14oz arborio rice

100ml/3.75 fl oz dry white wine or vermouth

70g/ 2 1/2 oz butter

85 - 100g/3-3 oz freshly grated parmesan

255g/9oz mushrooms (one type, or a mixture)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 small handful of thyme, picked and chopped

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 handful of parsley, roughly chopped

1 pinch of chilli powder

a squeeze of lemon juice

Slice the mushrooms thinly. Don't cook all the mushrooms at once - do

them in 2 or 3 batches. In a very hot pan heat a tablespoon of olive

oil and add the mushrooms and thyme. Cook for about 1 minute, toss

them, then add the garlic and a pinch of salt. Cook for another

couple of minutes and then taste - if they are nicely cooked add some

parsley, a very small pinch of chilli powder and a squeeze of lemon

juice. Toss again. Chop half the cooked mushrooms.

Heat the stock. Then in a separate pan heat the olive oil, add the

shallot or onion, celery and a pinch of salt, and sweat the vegetables

for about 3 minutes. add the garlic and after another 2 minutes, when

the vegetables have softened, add the rice. Turn up the heat now. At

this crucial point you can't leave the pan, and anyway, this is the

best bit. While slowly stirring, continuously, you are beginning to

fry the rice. You don't want any colour at any point. You must keep

the rice moving. After 2 or 3 minutes it will begin to look

translucent as it absorbs all the flavours of the base (it may crackle

at this point, that's fine). Add the vermouth or wine, keeping on

stirring as it hits the pan.

Once the vermouth or wine seems to have cooked into the rice, add your

first ladle of hot stock and a pinch of salt. Turn down the heat to a

highish simmer. Add the chopped mushrooms. Keep adding ladlefuls of

stock, stirring and allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before

adding the next. This will take about 15 minutes. Carry on adding

stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite. Check seasoning.

Remove from the heat and add the butter, the rest of the mushrooms and

the Parmesan, saving a little of the latter to go on top. Stir

gently. Eat as soon as possible while it retains its mois

~~

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