Porcini mushroom risotto

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 400 g porcini mushrooms, or 100 g dried
• 6 sprigs of parsley
• 2 small garlic cloves
• 3 small shallots
• 150 ml cream, whipped
• 300 g rice (Arborio, Vialone Nano or Carnaroli)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 150 g butter
• 150 ml wine, white, dry
• 300 ml chicken stock (or 150 ml chicken stock and 150 ml porcini mushroom water)
• 50 g Parmesan
• some salt and pepper, white (season carefully)

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 30 minutes

for gourmets and connoisseurs

Remove the ends (stems) of the fresh porcini mushrooms and wash them thoroughly several times under running water. Drain them in a cloth. Then leave the porcini mushrooms on a baking tray in a preheated oven at 50°C for about half an hour to dry slightly. Or: Pour lukewarm water over 100g of dried porcini mushrooms in a bowl and let them swell for about 15 minutes. With this method, use only 150ml and 150ml of porcini mushroom water instead of 300ml. This also gives a wonderful aroma. Prepare the rice: Add the rice to boiling, lightly salted water, stir and simmer for 10 minutes (uncovered). Then carefully drain the water and add 2 tablespoons of good olive oil to the rice and stir to prevent the risotto grains from sticking together. Sauté the shallots and garlic in 50g of butter until translucent. Then add the porcini mushrooms and season with a little!! Season lightly with salt and white pepper, or omit the salt altogether, as I do, as the stock and Parmesan provide enough salt on their own. Sauté the whole thing gently. Deglaze with the white wine, stock, and/or porcini mushroom water. Let everything simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add the partially cooked rice and simmer gently for 1-2 minutes. From now on, please finish cooking the dish, stirring constantly until the end! This is very important, as otherwise the risotto will burn. This is the more laborious part of cooking risotto, but the results speak for themselves! The risotto will now absorb some of the liquid. During these 2 minutes, stir in the remaining 100g butter and the 50g grated Parmesan. Finally, fold in the finely chopped parsley and the whipped cream. Serve the risotto on warmed plates. Can be served as a standalone dish (as a starter for 6 people, for example) or as a standalone main course, which is how we like it. Tips for buying rice: -Arborio: with good binding power and a slightly firmer consistency -Vialone Nano: a short-grain rice that’s particularly suitable for a slightly runny risotto (“all ondo,” as the Venetians say) -Carnaroli: a particularly robust rice bred just this century. Very popular with professional chefs and a bit more expensive than the others.