Risotto with porcini mushrooms

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• some olive oil
• 1 small onion(s)
• 1 clove(s) garlic
• 150 g risotto, e.g. Arborio
• 5 sprigs of thyme
• 150 ml red wine
• 500 ml vegetable stock
• 250 g porcini mushrooms, fresh
• Parmesan
• Watercress, for garnishing
• salt and pepper

Instructions

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

Risotto with mushrooms and porcini

Finely dice the onion. Sauté in olive oil over medium heat until lightly browned. Peel and halve the garlic clove, then sauté briefly. Add the risotto rice and thyme sprigs and sauté until translucent. Deglaze with red wine and simmer until almost completely reduced. Top up with hot stock until the rice is just covered with liquid, then wait until it has absorbed it. Repeat until the rice is cooked but still has a slight bite; allow about 20 minutes for this. Clean and roughly chop the porcini mushrooms, then add them to the risotto five minutes before the end of the cooking time and let them simmer. Finally, stir in some grated Parmesan cheese, remove the thyme sprigs and garlic, serve the risotto on hot plates, and sprinkle with fresh pepper and cress. It looks lovely if you cut a small mushroom into fine strips, sauté briefly, and arrange them in a fan shape on top of the risotto. It’s important that the risotto always simmers gently and doesn’t cook too quickly. The light frying of the onion and the use of a dark, full-bodied red wine give the dish a beautiful, dark brown color.