Porcini Mushroom Risotto
Flavorful, creamy and fragrant this mushroom risotto is one of the most simple one-pot meals.
And dried porcini mushrooms have been chosen for a reason.
Their rich nutty and earthy flavor in combination with meaty and slightly creamy texture will give your mushroom risotto a flavor and aroma that will make your mouth water.
Even though you can find dried porcini mushrooms quite easily in almost any region, it’s interesting that these kind of mushrooms are extremely difficult to cultivate.
That’s why they can be equally called “wild mushrooms”.
Porcini are usually dried, packaged and exported worldwide from their most common regions in Northern America, Nothern and Central Europe and Asia.
Dried Porcini Mushrooms (literally “piglet” from Italian) are highly appreciated all around the world as they don’t loose their hearty flavor and fragrance.
In fact, vivid fragrance is one of the first signs of quality dried porcini.
That’s why when purchasing a pack of dried porcini pay attention to the package.
The best Porcini Mushrooms package should have little or no dust or crumbled pieces. The more pieces in the package that still resemble mushroom shape the better.
Did you know: Dried porcini have more protein than most other commonly consumed vegetables apart from soybeans?
The best part? It’s not only fall time when you can enjoy this magic risotto. With dried porcini you can make it all year round.
Mushroom Risotto with Flavorful Dried Porcini
Ingredients
- 12 oz Arborio rice
- 1 oz dried porcini mushrooms
- 1 large shallot chopped
- 3 garlic cloves
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 5-6 cups vegetable or meat stock
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese grated
- Handful fresh parsley chopped
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a small bowl put dried porcini mushrooms and pour some cold water. Stir and drain the mushrooms immediately. This way we washed away any imperfections.
- Now steep porcini for 30-60 minutes in just enough water to cover them.
- Drain reserving the liquid.
- Cut mushrooms into small pieces.
- Bring your favortie stock to boil, add liquid from the mushrooms you’ve previously reserved.
- In a large skillet pan add a splash of extra virgin olive oil.
- Add shopped shallot and garlic cloves crushed with the flat of a knife.
- Stir for a minute or two until garlic starts to become fragrant.
- Add rice. Toss everything for another minute.
- Add white wine.
- Once it’s completely absorbed start adding HOT stock. One laddle at a time.
- Let simmer on low heat and add more stock as needed.
- Depending in the rice, risotto is usually ready in about 20-25 minutes. Like perfectly cooked pasta it should remain slightly “al dente”. A little bit sturdy but not raw or grainy.
- Once risotto is ready, add butter and half of grated Parmesan cheese.
- Serve immediately topped with fresh chopped parsley and more Parmesan cheese if needed.
Did you know that Porcini Mushrooms are one of the safest wild mushrooms to pick for the table?
