Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients

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• 1 l (4 1/4 cup) vegetable broth kept hot
• 500 g (1.1 lb) cremini mushrooms wiped clean, sliced 1/4 inch (5 mm) thick
• 2 tbsp olive oil for browning the mushrooms
• 4 sprig thyme leaves stripped
• 40 g (1.4 oz) butter 20 g for the onion, 20 g at the end
• 1 yellow onion finely diced
• 2 clove garlic finely minced
• 300 g (1 1/2 cup) Arborio rice or Carnaroli; do not rinse
• 150 ml (5.1 fl oz) dry white wine dry
• 60 g (2.1 oz) Parmesan finely grated; save 10 g for serving
• 0.5 bunch flat-leaf parsley chopped
• salt to taste
• black pepper freshly ground, to taste

Method

1. Heat the broth in a saucepan and keep it hot over a low flame. Wipe the mushrooms clean with paper towels and slice them 1/4 inch (5 mm) thick, finely chop the onion and garlic and strip the thyme leaves.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over high heat and cook half of the mushrooms for 5 to 6 minutes without stirring constantly, until golden brown and the liquid has evaporated. Remove them and repeat with the remaining oil and mushrooms, adding the thyme in the last minute. Salt the mushrooms only at the end.
3. Melt 20 g (1 1/2 tablespoons) of the butter in a wide pot over medium heat, cook the onion for 3 to 4 minutes until translucent and add the garlic for 30 seconds. Add the rice and toast it, stirring, for 2 minutes until the edges of the grains turn translucent.
4. Pour in the white wine and let it cook down, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes until almost fully evaporated. Only part of the alcohol cooks off this way; for a version without wine, use 150 ml (scant 2/3 cup) of broth instead.
5. Add a ladle of hot broth (about 2/3 cup, 150 ml) and stir over medium heat until it is almost absorbed; only then add the next ladle. Continue like this for 18 to 20 minutes, until the rice is creamy but still slightly firm in the center.
6. Stir in half of the mushrooms and take the pot off the heat. Beat in the remaining 20 g of butter and 50 g of the Parmesan vigorously, season with salt and pepper and let the risotto rest, covered, for 2 minutes. It should flow loosely; if it is too stiff, stir in a splash of broth.
7. Spoon into warmed shallow bowls, top with the remaining mushrooms, the rest of the Parmesan and the chopped parsley and serve right away.

Tip: Genuine Parmigiano Reggiano is made with animal rennet and is therefore not strictly vegetarian. For strict vegetarians, use a hard cheese whose label says “microbial rennet”.

Tip: Do not rinse the rice, or it loses the starch that makes risotto creamy. Always add the broth hot: cold broth stops the cooking and the rice cooks unevenly.

Food safety: Cool cooked rice quickly (within about an hour), keep it in the refrigerator, do not keep it warm for long and use it by the next day at the latest; reheat it until piping hot all the way through.