We wanted to make a very special dinner to celebrate our birthdays. We settled on Porcini Risotto with Parmesan and Truffles, grilled Ribeye steaks and a good 1971 bottle of Barolo. Wow- what an amazing burst of flavors! Serendipitously, the truffle was shaped like a heart.
If you can get a fresh truffle, this is the best recipe to make to showcase them! I’ve been also told that one of the best ways to have truffles is shave them on simple (homemade of course) buttered noodles
Porcini Mushroom Risotto with Parmesan & Fresh Truffles
Ingredients
- 1 package dried porcini mushrooms
- 2 cups hot water
- 1 1/2 cups Carnaroli Rice Arborio also works
- 2 TB butter
- 3 TB olive oil
- 1/2 cup diced onion and/or shallots
- 6 white crimini mushrooms
- Reconstituted porcini mushrooms chopped
- salt & pepper
- 1 cup white wine dry, not sweet
- 4 cups chicken stock I used organic, free range chicken broth
- Knob of butter approx. 2"X 2" piece
- 1 1/2 cups of fresh grated parmesan
- Fresh truffle to shave on top
Instructions
- Soak mushrooms in water to reconstitute for 30 minutes. Save water in case you need more liquid for the rice. Drain and chop the mushrooms in rough pieces.
- Simmer chicken stock in a saucepan on your stovetop within easy reach of the risotto pan.
- To make the risotto heat the butter and olive oil in a large enamel pan. Add onions/shallots, S&P, and mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes until starting to brown. Remove onion/mushroom mixture and set aside. Leave as much butter/oil as possible in the pan. Add another tablespoon of butter if needed.
- Add rice and stir to coat. Cook for 4 minutes or until the rice starts to toast. Add wine and stir until absorbed. Add 1 ladle of hot stock to rice at a time. Stir until each ladle is absorbed before adding another. Keep stirring and adding the stock until its used up. The risotto will start to get creamy. It will take at least 20 minutes to add all the liquid. Leave it runny at the end because the cheese will absorb more liquid. Use the liquid from the porcini mushroom if needed. Risotto should be "toothy" or "al dente" when done. Each grain of rice should look separate (and not a mushy mess).
- Add the onion/mushroom mixture back to the pan and stir in. Gently heat through.
- Finally add pinches of the knob of butter and the parmesan cheese and stir in until all is melted and coated.
- Shave VERY thin slices of fresh truffles over the risotto. If you have a truffle shaver for this it will make it much easier! We actually drizzled more hot butter over the truffles to give it that extra hit of fragrance and sensuality.
- Serve Immediately!
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