MUSHROOM RISOTTO WITH ROCKET SALAD

Recently, four great things just happened to come together. Firstly, my grandmother came from Germany to visit me in London for a few days (yes, we had a great time). Secondly, I walked past mixed dried mushrooms in the supermarket and had a sudden desire to cook something with them, because they have such a wonderfully intense flavour that fresh mushrooms just cannot compete with. Thirdly, my wonderful Italian friend gave me a giant block of Parmesan cheese. And finally my grandmother really loves Risotto and I wanted to cook her something she would enjoy.

As a result, we had a an absolutely fantastic dinner. Up to this point, I’ll be very honest. I’ve never been a massive fan for Risotto, possibly the result of many bad ones that mainly taste of cheap vegetable stock cubes. I only really made it because of the mushrooms and the giant block of cheese that needed to be eaten. Yet this Risotto really won me over – it has a deliciously creamy texture and has a really intense mushroom flavour. Don’t be alarmed by the amount of dried mushrooms that goes into it. I was initially surprised as well, but because the recipe comes from my very trusted Italian recipe bible “The Silver Spoon”, I just went with it. It may seem like a lot but it works – don’t skimp. It is what makes this recipe so special.Risotto is quite rich in itself, so I usually serve it on its own with a salad on the side, to cut through the richness. I feel that the slight bitterness of rocket here goes particularly well and I love this salad because it contains some of my favourite things ever to be put in jars – sundried tomatoes and artichokes.

The other reason this is a great dinner is because its actually quite simple. But looks impressive. The only slight hassle is the amount of stirring you have to do but the result is totally worth it. Just make sure to put on some good music.

Method to success:

• You want to peel the tomatoes here. Otherwise you end up with small pieces of hard tomato skin which is not tasty nor attractive. To peel tomatoes, cut a cross into either end of the tomato and then pour boiling water over the tomatoes and leave for a few minutes. The skin should come away quite easily. Don’t leave the tomatoes in for too long though otherwise they will cook and become mushy.
• Risotto needs quite a lot of stirring so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan and burn. That doesn’t mean you need to stir it constantly, but you can’t really leave the stove for a long time…
• Dried mushrooms can have some sand left in them. Make sure you soak them in a large bowl so these can all drop to the bottom of the water and you don’t have any sand in the food.

Print Recipe

MUSHROOM RISOTTO WITH ROCKET SALAD

Course

Main Dish

Cuisine

Italian

Prep Time

30 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Servings

people

Ingredients

Risotto

• 100 g dried mushrooms such as porcini (I used mixed mushrooms)
• 40 g butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• a few rosemary sprigs finely chopped
• a few sage sprigs finely chopped
• handful of basil leaves torn
• 4 tomatoes peeled and chopped
• 350 g risotto rice
• 1.5 l vegetable stock
• small bunch parsley finely chopped

Salad

• 200 g rocket
• 12 sun-dried tomatoes
• 4 marinated artichokes, drained and sliced
• juice of 1 lemon
• 100 ml olive oil extra virgin
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• salt & freshly ground pepper

Course Main Dish Cuisine Italian Prep Time 30 minutes Cook Time 30 minutes Servings people Ingredients Risotto 100 g dried mushrooms such as porcini (I used mixed mushrooms) 40 g butter 2 tbsp olive oil 1 garlic clove minced 1 medium onion finely chopped a few rosemary sprigs finely chopped a few sage sprigs finely chopped handful of basil leaves torn 4 tomatoes peeled and chopped 350 g risotto rice 1.5 l vegetable stock small bunch parsley finely chopped Salad 200 g rocket 12 sun-dried tomatoes 4 marinated artichokes, drained and sliced juice of 1 lemon 100 ml olive oil extra virgin 1 tsp dijon mustard salt & freshly ground pepper

Instructions

1. Soak the mushrooms in a large bowl of boiling water for about 20 min. Its a good idea to give them a quick stir around after the first few minutes to loosen any sand particles that might be stuck between them
2. Meanwhile, melt butter with the oil in a medium/large pan. Then add the garlic, onion, rosemary, sage and basil and fry for a few minutes on low heat (you don’t want the garlic to burn). Add the tomatoes and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally
3. Scoop the mushrooms out the water and squeeze out excess water. Add to the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, cover and cook for 15 minutes. I like to use some of the mushroom water to add flavour, so I lade out the top part, ensuring that no sand from the bottom of the bowl is added. Discard the rest
4. Prepare the stock - it needs to be hot
5. Now, stir in half the parsley and risotto rice, making sure the rice is coated in the sauce from the pan. Pour in the wine and cook until it has evaporated
6. Add a ladle of stock/mushroom water and stir, cooking until it has evaporated. You will need to stir frequently
7. Keep adding stock and stirring until it has evaporated, you will use most of the stock. It should take about 20-25 minutes until the rice is cooked
8. For the dressing whisk the lemon juice with the mustard. Slowly add the oil and keep whisking, the dressing should become slightly thick. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside until ready to serve
9. For the salad, scatter the rocket on a large plate. Slice the sundries tomatoes into smaller pieces and arrange the tomatoes, artichokes and olives on the salad. Set aside until ready to serve
10. Drizzle salad dressing over the salad. Stir in half the parmesan into the risotto and the rest of the parmesan
11. To serve, ladle the risotto onto the plates and scatter with the remaining parmesan

Recipe Notes

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