Risotto ai Funghi Recipe

Risotto ai Funghi is Italy's cosiest bowl: nutty mushrooms folded through slowly stirred rice until it turns creamy without a drop of cream. A knob of butter and a shower of Parmesan finish a dish that feels both rustic and refined.

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

35 mins

Total time

50 mins

Servings

4 servings

Calories

560

Ingredients

• 320 g carnaroli or arborio rice
• 400 g mixed mushrooms, sliced
• 1.2 litres hot vegetable stock
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 100 ml dry white wine
• 50 g butter
• 60 g freshly grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• Chopped parsley, to serve

Instructions

1. Warm the stock in a saucepan and keep it at a gentle simmer throughout cooking.
2. Heat the olive oil in a wide pan and fry the mushrooms in batches until golden, about 5 minutes per batch, then set aside.
3. Melt half the butter in the same pan, soften the onion for 5 minutes, then add the garlic and thyme for 1 minute.
4. Stir in the rice and toast for 2 minutes until the grains look translucent at the edges.
5. Pour in the wine and stir until absorbed, then add the hot stock one ladle at a time, stirring often and letting each ladle absorb before adding the next.
6. After about 18 minutes, fold in the mushrooms and continue cooking until the rice is al dente and creamy, about 20 to 25 minutes in total.
7. Take off the heat, beat in the remaining butter and Parmesan, rest for 2 minutes and serve with parsley.

Pro tips

• Keep the stock hot so the rice cooks evenly and stays creamy.
• Stirring often releases the starch that gives risotto its signature creaminess.
• Dried porcini soaked in warm water add wonderful depth; use their soaking liquid in the stock.
• Risotto should flow like a wave on the plate, not sit in a stiff mound.

Frequently asked questions