Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients

• 1.2 l vegetable stock, kept hot
• 400 g button or cremini mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced 5 mm thick
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 50 g butter, divided into two equal pieces
• 1 medium onion, very finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 300 g Arborio rice (or other short-grain risotto rice)
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 50 g Parmesan or other hard cheese, finely grated, plus extra to serve
• 3 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tsp salt, or to taste
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Pour the stock into a medium saucepan and bring it to a gentle simmer over low heat. Keep it hot on the back burner for the whole recipe, because cold stock slows the rice and makes it cook unevenly.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in your wide pan over high heat. Add half the mushrooms in a single layer and leave them alone for 2 minutes, then stir. Cook for about 5 minutes in total until deep golden brown and any liquid has evaporated. Tip onto a plate and repeat with the remaining oil and mushrooms.
3. Lower the heat to medium and add one piece of butter to the same pan. Add the onion with a pinch of the salt and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes until soft and translucent but not coloured. Stir in the garlic and thyme and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
4. Add the rice and stir for 2 minutes so every grain is coated in butter. The edges of the grains should turn slightly translucent while the centres stay white.
5. Pour in the lemon juice and stir until it has been absorbed, about 30 seconds. Add a ladleful of hot stock (about 150 ml) and stir gently until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
6. Keep adding stock one ladleful at a time, stirring often and waiting until each addition is mostly absorbed before adding the next. Keep the heat at a lively simmer. After about 15 minutes, stir in half of the browned mushrooms and the remaining salt.
7. Taste the rice. It is done when it is creamy and loose, and the grains are tender with a slight bite at the centre, usually after 18 to 20 minutes in total. If it is still firm, add another ladleful of stock and cook for a few more minutes. You may not need all of the stock.
8. Take the pan off the heat. Stir in the remaining butter, the Parmesan, the rest of the mushrooms and the black pepper. Cover and rest for 2 minutes, then stir vigorously for a few seconds. The risotto should flow slowly when you tilt the pan; loosen with a splash of hot stock if it looks stiff.
9. Season with more salt if needed, scatter over the parsley and serve straight away in warm shallow bowls with extra Parmesan.

Tips

• Brown the mushrooms in two batches. Crowding the pan makes them steam and turn grey instead of golden and savoury.
• Do not rinse the rice. The surface starch is what gives risotto its creaminess.
• Stir often but not constantly; steady simmering and regular stirring matter more than speed.
• Risotto thickens quickly as it sits, so have your bowls warm and serve it as soon as it is ready.