We had this as a side dish last week with Dizzy Pig Peking duck breast. After posting about that meal, I had a couple of requests for the risotto recipe … happy to oblige! This is really tasty, and goes well as part of a main course or a dish in its own right.

Equipment

• Frying or saute pan
• Sharp knife
• Chopping board
• Measuring spoons
• Ladle
• Cheese grater

Ingredients

• 300g arborio risotto rice
• 1 litre chicken stock
• 200ml white wine
• 1tsp truffle oil
• 450g mushrooms
• 15g butter
• 2-3 tbsp grated Parmesan
• Pinch salt
• Pinch black and red pepper

The Truffle Hunter black truffle oil is very good and what I use. It is available from amazon.co.uk and some delicatessens. For the mushrooms, it’s important to get varieties with flavour, white ones won’t cut it. I make this with a mixture of chestnut, oyster, enoki and shiitake mushrooms.

Method

1. Chop the mushrooms into bite-sized chunks.
2. Melt the butter in the saute pan over medium heat, then add mushroom pieces. Sprinkle over salt and pepper, add truffle oil, then saute for 2-3 mins until the mushrooms are soft.
3. Pour the rice on top of the mushrooms, gently stir in so the rice is spread throughout the mushrooms and coated in butter.
4. Slowly add a ladle of chicken stock. Stir the mushroom and rice mix gently until they have absorbed the stock and you can’t see it. Add more ladles, stirring each time, until you’ve added 500ml of stock.
5. Add the white wine, stir until it has been absorbed.
6. Add the remaining stock a ladle at a time, again stirring gently until it has been absorbed. After each ladle, test the rice to see if it’s how you like it, from al dente to soft. If it’s not soft enough, add and stir in another ladle of stock.
7. Add some grated Parmesan and stir this in to finish the dish.
8. Take off the heat and leave for 10 mins to allow the mushrooms and rice to absorb the different flavours.

Hints, Tips and Pictures

1. For an even more intense mushroom flavour, try adding water to dehydrated mushrooms. Do this in the morning, and then use the liquid in place of some of the chicken stock for extra mushroom taste.
2. An easy way to make chicken stock is to roast a chicken in a roasting tray suspended over a large amount of water. Then use the chicken for sandwiches. Or feeding your cats.