Truffled Mushroom Risotto

If I made a list of my soul foods, most of them are rice based! Risottos did not make it on the list until recently though. I fell in love with Rositto, when I started frequenting Chafa cafe in Koregaon Park, Pune (India). We lived around the block from there for 2 years and Chafa cafe very quickly became like an extension of our house. It was a privilege and pleasure to be able to make impromptu plans to go there be it after a lazy afternoon for a cappuccino and snack or jog straight to it after crossfit for a healthy Juice and avocado toast (best avo toast in town BTW). One other popular occasion was to go there for their wild rice risotto, when either me or hubby felt under the weather or were back from long work travel and needed a food hug. Their risotto just hit the spot!

Before that, Risotto was just a gluten free/ vegetarian option that I had to resort to in Italian restaurants. Chafa cafe really reintroduced it to me!

Fast forward to now, I am addicted to this truffled mushroom risotto recipe that I have perfected. Especially a winter dinner favorite for us, hope you will enjoy it as much as we do 🙂 Its loaded with mushrooms – which is just the way I like it!

RECIPE:

You will need:

1.5 cup arborio rice

6 cups of chicken stock/ veg stock. You can also use a stock base or seasoning cube substituted to make 6 cups of stock. If using better than bouillon, add 2 tbsp paste to 6 cups water

1 lb cremini or portobello mushrooms

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

¼ cup white wine vinegar/ rice wine vinegar OR ½ cup white wine (any dry white wine -dry sherry, pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc or Chinese rice wine, etc.)

1 shallot

2 cloves garlic

Salt&pepper

½ cup parmesan cheese

Chives or parsley to garnish

Procedure:

• Slice the mushrooms to thick slices
• Start cooking the stock in a pot, as you want to biol it and keep it warm when you start adding it in to cook the rice
• In a heavy bottom or non-stick pan, heat 2 tbsp olive oil and a tablespoon of butter
• Add finely chopped shallots and garlic to the oil+butter and sauté for a few seconds till shallots are translucent – do not brown
• Add the sliced mushrooms and season with a little salt and some fresh crushed black pepper. The mushrooms will sweat at first. Continue cooking until all the juices dry up and the mushrooms are evenly coated with the oil+butter and are glossy and golden.
• Next add the rice and sauté for a few seconds.
• Next add the wine vinegar/ wine and sauté till aromatic (alcohol evaporates)
• Once the mixture looks homogenously mixed, start adding the warm stock about ½ a cup at a time and mix well.
• The rice will absorb the stock as it cooks and it’s time to add the next ½ cup of stock when there is no more stock in the pan when you scrape the bottom.
• Keep adding the stock, until the rice cooks. You will need almost all of the 6 cups.
• This process has to be done on low-medium flame. If you heat it on high and the stock evaporates faster than it gets absorbed in the rice, you might need an extra cup or two.
• Once the rice is cooked you should end up with the perfect consistency of very thick broth evenly coating the rice, yet see individual whole grains of rice that are fully cooked and more than doubled in size. The mushroom pieces cook to a very nice meaty consistency as well.
• Finish with adding the ½ cup of parmesan cheese- mix for a few seconds till it melts and stop cooking
• Serve warm drizzled with ½ a tsp of truffle oil/ serving and some finely chopped chives

NOTES:

• You can add different vegetables such as broccoli, peas, asparagus, dried mushrooms, etc. to the risotto
• Instead of the truffle oil, you can use other favors such as lemon zest, caramelized onions or saffron to add richness to your risotto
• Sausage pieces also go very well with risottos
• You can also substitute the wine vinegar/ wine with lemon juice