Wild mushroom and taleggio risotto

Serves - 4

You’ll need

• 1.5 litres vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 25g butter
• 1 small onion or 2 shallots, very finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 300g risotto rice, such as Arborio or Carnaroli
• 150ml dry white wine, optional
• 400g wild mushrooms or a mixture of mushrooms, roughly sliced or torn
• 150g Taleggio, rind removed and cut into small pieces
• 40g Parmesan or vegetarian hard cheese, finely grated
• Small handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Warm the stock

Pour the vegetable stock into a saucepan and keep it on a low heat. It does not need to be aggressively boiling – just hot enough that it keeps the risotto moving rather than slowing it down every time you add a ladleful.

2. Cook the mushrooms

Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a large frying pan over a fairly high heat. Add the mushrooms with a pinch of salt and cook for 6–8 minutes until they have given up their moisture and started to colour properly. You want them golden and savoury, not pale and watery. Set aside.

3. Start the base

In a wide saucepan or deep frying pan, heat the remaining olive oil with the butter over a medium-low heat. Add the onion or shallots with a pinch of salt and cook gently for 6–8 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

4. Toast the rice

Stir in the risotto rice and cook for 1–2 minutes, stirring well, until the grains are lightly coated and starting to look slightly translucent at the edges.

If using the wine, pour it in now and let it bubble away until mostly absorbed.

5. Build the risotto

Add the hot stock a ladle at a time, stirring regularly and allowing each addition to be mostly absorbed before adding the next. Keep going like this for around 15 minutes, adjusting the heat as needed so it stays at a gentle, steady blip rather than a frantic boil.

6. Add the mushrooms

Once the rice is nearly there, stir in most of the cooked mushrooms and continue adding stock for another 5 minutes or so. You want the rice tender with a little bite left in the middle, and the whole thing loose enough to spread softly on the plate rather than sit there in a heap looking stubborn.

7. Finish properly

Take the pan off the heat. Stir in the Taleggio, Parmesan and most of the parsley. Mix well until the cheeses have melted and the risotto looks rich and glossy. Taste and season with salt and plenty of black pepper.

Put the lid on and leave it for 2 minutes before serving. It is a small pause, but it does improve things.

8. Serve

Spoon into warm bowls and finish with the remaining mushrooms, the last of the parsley, an extra grating of Parmesan if you like, and a final twist of black pepper.

A couple of helpful notes

- If you can find a mixture of mushrooms, all the better – it gives you more depth and a bit more character than using just one.
- Carnaroli gives a slightly silkier finish, but Arborio will still do a very good job.
- Taleggio is quite rich, so let it melt into the risotto rather than piling in too much extra cheese at the end.