Mushroom Risotto Recipe

Serves

2 adults and 2 littles

Ingredients

15g dried porcini mushrooms
1 low-salt vegetable stock cube
1 medium brown onion
unsalted dairy-free butter
200g chestnut mushrooms
2 fat garlic cloves, grated or crushed
150g arborio risotto rice
a large handful hard dairy-free cheese, grated
freshly ground black pepper

Method

Boil the kettle. Put the dried mushrooms in a jug and crumble in the stock cube. Fill with 650ml of boiling water from the kettle, stir and set aside to let the mushrooms soften.

Peel and finely dice the onion as small as you can. Add 25g of the butter to a medium-sized saucepan and allow it to melt while adding the onions. Sauté for 3 minutes while you chop the chestnut mushrooms.

Slice each mushroom into 3 or 4 slices, then dice roughly into smaller pieces. Add the mushrooms to the onions, along with a little black pepper and cook for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, remove the soaked mushrooms from the broth and put on a chopping board. Run a knife over the mushrooms to cut them into small pieces, as fine as you can but no need to be precise. Add these to the pan, along with the garlic and risotto rice. Cook for a minute, before adding all of the mushroom stock.

Give the pan a good stir using a wooden spoon. Rest the spoon over the pan and place a lid on top so that the spoon leaves a gap allowing a little steam to escape. Simmer the risotto for around 20-25 minutes, or until the rice is fully cooked, stirring every so often. Add a splash more water from the kettle if it looks to be drying up too quickly.

Take the pan off the heat and add the remaining butter, along with the grated cheese, and stir to melt them into the rice. The risotto will become silky and creamy.

Recipe courtesy of Family Comforts by Rebecca Wilson, published by DK.

Read the Food articles archive...