Mushroom Risotto with Goats Cheese

A delicious celebration of mushrooms with this recipe from Tom Walton. The best thing about this risotto is that the leftovers can be rolled, crumbed & fried over the next few days to make arancini. 

Mushroom Risotto with Goats Cheese

This is a celebration of mushrooms and very luxurious. The best thing about risotto is leftovers can be rolled, crumbed & fried over the next few days for arancini. 

Serves 4

Ingredients

1.25 l vegetable stock

30g dried mushrooms

5 tbsp olive oil

1 small brown onion, finely diced

2 clove garlic, finely chopped

Sea salt & fresh ground black pepper

1 1/3 cups arborio rice

2/3 cup dry white wine 

30g unsalted butter

2/3 cup grated parmesan + extra piece to serve

1 punnet mixed mushrooms (enoki, shitake, king brown, shimeji, sliced & trimmed

5 swiss brown mushrooms, thickly sliced

1 clove garlic, sliced

½ cup flat leaf parsley

100g soft goats cheese

Method

Bring the vegetable stock to a simmer then turn right down to keep hot. Place the dried mushrooms into a small bowl and cover with ½ cup warm water to soak for 10 minutes. 

Place a medium saucepan over a medium/high heat and add 3 tbsp of olive oil, the onion, garlic and pinch of salt. Sweat this for 5 minutes, until the onion is soft then add the rice and stir through, cooking for another 1 minutes. Stirring constantly. 

Add the wine to the pan and stir this through the rice to absorb then begin adding the hot vegetable stock a ladle or so at a time and stirring constantly as it absorbs through the rice and the risotto starts to become creamy. 

Continue adding the stock after each ladle has been absorbed then towards the end, add the soaked mushrooms and their water and stir them through.

While the risotto is cooking, place a medium frying pan over a high heat and add 1 tbsp of oil. Add the more dense, hardier mushrooms with a pinch of salt and sauté until lightly coloured. Add half the garlic and toss through then spoon the mushrooms onto a plate and repeat, cooking the remaining mushrooms. Add half the parsley to the mushrooms and the other half leave for the risotto. 

Once the rice is cooked and the risotto is loose and creamy, remove from the heat, add the butter, parmesan, parsley and adjust the seasoning to taste. Cover the risotto and let it sit for 2-3 minutes. 

To serve, spoon the risotto onto plates and top with some mushrooms, goats cheese and finish with some extra parmesan, a drizzle of olive oil and crack of black pepper.