The texture of fresh porcini mushrooms justifies the effort involved in sourcing and cleaning them. They are tender, yet retain a satisfying firmness; their flavour profile is woody, nutty, and meaty. In contrast, dried porcini mushrooms, though earthy, intense, and rich in umami, fall short in aromatic complexity. Furthermore, once rehydrated, dried porcini mushrooms often become soft and mushy.
Porcini mushrooms excel when prepared as grilled, confited, or sautéed with garlic and parsley, enhancing their meaty flavour and velvety texture. Today, we’re sharing our risotto recipe that incorporates these mushrooms. It follows the traditional risotto method: start by toasting the rice, then add a flavourful broth gradually, and finish with butter and Parmigiano for the mantecatura. We cook the mushrooms separately, adding them to the rice halfway through its cooking. For added flavour and texture, the finished risotto is garnished with grilled porcini slices.
Boletus edulis, porcini, ceps or cèpes start appearing in late August and early September as nature brings in a combination of lower temperatures, rainfall and latent heat in the soil from a warm summer. The season is short and can last at most up to November in the UK. As these mushrooms mature and grow larger, they are increasingly susceptible to infestation by the larvae of the fungal gnat. These larvae can transform the mushroom into a spongy mush, hence, once purchased you are doomed to a war against time to eat them before these maggots finish their job, or worse, infest you healthy specimens. In case you find any larvae (5mm long white body with a black head), don’t panic. Simply remove them and ensure that any damaged parts of the mushroom are also removed.
Risotto ai funghi porcini
Course: MainCuisine: Italian, ModernDifficulty: Medium4
servings30
minutes40
minutesAdapted from Federico Sisti from Antica Osteria Il Ronchettino in Milano.
Ingredients
- Vegetable broth
1.25l vegetable broth
2 carrots, peeled and cut in 4
2 onions, peeled and cut in quarters
2 celery sticks, cut in 4
- Porcini broth
3 fresh, medium size porcini mushrooms (150g), cleaned and cut in large pieces
½ l water
- Parsley paste
1 big bunch of parsley
Water, ice
1tbsp Extra Virgin olive oil
- Sautéed mushrooms
Extra virgin olive oil
350g fresh porcini mushrooms, cun into 2-3cm pieces
1 garlic clove, peeled
- Risotto
320 g Carnaroli or Arborio rice
Half a shallot, peeled and finely chopped
Extra virgin olive oil
200ml white wine
100g unsalted butter
50g Parmigiano Reggiano
Vegetable broth
Porcini broth
Parsley paste
Salt, black pepper
- Plating
1 medium size porcini mushroom, cut lengthwise
Extra Virgin olive oil
Salt flakes
Directions
- Vegetable broth
- In our case, we wanted to intensify a store-bought vegetable broth. In a medium saucepan, place all the vegetables and the broth.
- Keep it at low heat while you make the risotto. The vegetables can be discarded after their use.
- Porcini broth
- In a medium saucepan, add the mushrooms and water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10min.
- Take off the heat and blend until you obtain a homogeneous cream.
- Parsley paste
- Here, we are going to blanch the parsley to make its aromas milder, rounder and less grassy. Pick the leaves of the parsley.
- In a medium saucepan, bring to a boil water.
- Put the parsley in the water as soon as you see any bubbles rising and blanch for 30s (max 1min). Immediately transfer the parsley into a bowl filled with cold water and ice and let cool for 2min.
- Fish out the parsley and blend it with a tablespoon of olive oil.
- Sautéed mushrooms
- Drizzle some olive oil in a large pan and set over a high heat.
- Add the fresh porcini mushrooms and sear them until they turn golden brown.
- Lower the heat to minimum and crush one clove of garlic. Toss the garlic with the mushrooms and cook for 30s at most.
- Remove from the heat and set a side.
- Risotto
- In a large saucepan, add the rice and toast it on its own over medium-high heat until some of the grains start to turn golden.
- Remove the rice from the saucepan and set aside.
- Drizzle olive oil on a heavy pan and preheat on medium heat.
- Add the shallot and fry slowly until soft and translucent.
- Then add the toasted rice and coat it with the olive oil.
- Pour in the wine (it should hiss) and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until nearly evaporated.
- Turn the heat down to medium. Now start adding the hot porcini broth to the rice, a ladleful at a time, waiting until each addition has been fully absorbed before adding the next and stirring very often.
- Once you finish the porcini broth, continue with the vegetable broth. Keep checking the texture of your rice, you may not need to add all the broth.
- Mix in the grilled mushrooms 10 minutes after pouring the first ladle of broth.
- Once the rice is ready, turn off the heat.
- Add the butter and grated parmesan. Stir well until the texture is smooth and creamy.
- Season with salt and black pepper.
- Plating
- In a small pan (ideally a griddle pan), drizzle the olive oil and set over high heat. Place the mushrooms carefully and grill them until they turn golden brown pressing them with a spatula.
- Take a warm bowl, place 2 ladles of the risotto, drizzle some parsley cream on the top and place the grilled mushrooms on the top. Sprinkle some flaky salt.
Notes
- The fresh porcini mushrooms in the broth can be substituted with dried ones. Some tips to rehydrate dried porcini mushrooms:
1. Soak the mushrooms in lukewarm water (around 40C) for about 30min.
2. The mushrooms will float on the top, so choose a large container.
3. After the soaking time, carefully clean the mushrooms in the same water, in the manner that the mushrooms don’t touch the bottom (the sand/soil settles on the bottom).
4. Pat dry them.
5. Filter the water through a coffee filter (V60 paper filters + a dripper or a funnel or any other filter). - When choosing the dried porcini mushrooms, try to choose the biggest possible. They will rehydrate better and the bigger and ‘cleaner’ they are, the quality is better. Check out some Polish websites/shops for quality dried porcini mushrooms.