A shallow bowl of creamy mushroom risotto with pieces of rehydrated porcini, a glossy surface, grated Parmigiano and a pinch of truffle salt, beside a bag of dried porcini, a jar of truffle salt and a wooden spoon

Mushroom Risotto with Dried Porcini and Truffle Salt

Name: Mushroom Risotto with Dried Porcini and Truffle Salt
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 ounce (30 g) dried porcini; 5 cups hot water, plus more as needed; 3 tablespoons butter, divided; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 small onion or 2 shallots, finely chopped; 1 1/2 cups (300 g) carnaroli rice; 1/2 cup dry white wine; 1 tablespoon Mushroom Garum; Salt; 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano, plus more to serve; Truffle salt, chopped parsley, black pepper, to finish

Published 9 Sep 20267 min read

Filed under Grains Italy

Fresh mushrooms make one kind of risotto. Dried porcini make another, and the difference is the water. Soak an ounce of dried porcini in hot water for twenty minutes and you get two things: the mushrooms, now tender and intensely flavored, and a dark, savory liquid that becomes the stock. The flavor ends up in a jug, and it goes back into the pot a ladle at a time. This risotto lives entirely in the pantry, and it is the one to make when it is dark by five.

Our dried mushroom guide covers the varieties and the soaking; this is the dish that follows. The truffle products guide explains why the truffle salt goes on at the table rather than in the pan.

The pantry

Dried porcini, an ounce (shop dried mushrooms); a mix of porcini and other dried wild mushrooms works too. Carnaroli rice, the northern Italian superfino variety that holds its shape while releasing the starch that makes risotto creamy (shop rice and grains); arborio will do. Mushroom Garum (shop Mushroom Garum), one spoon stirred in near the end, a seasoning of fermented mushrooms, rice koji and Noma's oat garum that the Noma Projects garum guide describes in full. Butter, an onion or two shallots, a splash of white wine, Parmigiano, and Jacobsen's white truffle salt (shop Jacobsen White Truffle Salt) for the finish.

The recipe

Serves four. About forty minutes.

1 ounce (30 g) dried porcini
5 cups hot water, plus more as needed
3 tablespoons butter, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion or 2 shallots, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups (300 g) carnaroli rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon Mushroom Garum
Salt
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano, plus more to serve
Truffle salt, chopped parsley, black pepper, to finish

Put the porcini in a bowl, pour the hot water over, and soak for 20 minutes. Lift the mushrooms out with a slotted spoon, squeeze them gently over the bowl, and chop them roughly. Pour the soaking liquid through a fine sieve or a coffee filter into a saucepan, leaving the last spoonful of grit behind. Keep the liquid hot over low heat; this is the stock. Season it lightly with salt.
In a wide heavy pot, warm 2 tablespoons of the butter with the oil over medium heat. Cook the onion until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes, without browning.
Add the rice and stir for 2 minutes until the grains are hot and glossy and the edges look translucent.
Add the wine and stir until it has almost all evaporated.
Add the chopped porcini and a ladle of the hot soaking liquid. Stir, and keep the risotto at a lively simmer. When the liquid is nearly absorbed, add another ladle. Continue this way, stirring often but not constantly, for about 18 minutes. Taste a grain at 16; it should be tender with a small firm center.
When the rice is nearly done and the risotto is loose, stir in the Mushroom Garum. Taste for salt; the garum contains salt and the Parmigiano is coming.
Turn off the heat. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter and the Parmigiano and beat the risotto hard with a wooden spoon for a minute, the mantecatura, until it is creamy and glossy. Add a last splash of hot liquid if it has tightened; a risotto should spread slowly across the plate, not stand up.
Serve at once in warm shallow bowls. Finish each with a pinch of truffle salt, a grind of pepper, parsley and more Parmigiano at the table.

Why each step matters

Straining the soaking liquid through a filter keeps the grit out of the pot. Keeping the stock hot means the pot doesn't drop off the simmer between ladles. Stirring rubs starch from the surface of each grain into the liquid, which is where the creaminess comes from. The garum goes in near the end, when the seasoning of the finished pot can be tasted. The butter and cheese go in off the heat, where the butter is less likely to separate into oil, and together with the rice's own starch they make the dish creamy without cream. The truffle salt waits for the table.

Variations

A handful of fresh mushrooms, sautéed separately in butter until browned and folded in at the end, adds texture without diluting the flavor. A few drops of black truffle oil (shop Regalis Black Truffle Oil) over the finished bowl instead of the salt, with the truffle carried in oil. A scattering of toasted hazelnuts on top, a nod to Piedmont's hazelnut country. A poached egg, which is dinner. And the day after, the leftover risotto pressed thin into a hot buttered pan and fried until crisp and golden on both sides borrows the Milanese trick of riso al salto, traditionally made with saffron risotto.

The altitude note

In Denver, risotto can take longer to cook and may need more liquid: water boils at about 202°F here, so the rice simmers at a lower temperature, and the dry air pulls moisture out of the pot faster. Keep a pan of extra hot water beside the porcini stock, and start tasting at 18 minutes, since it may take longer; the Denver altitude cooking guide has the rest.

The shop is at 263 Josephine Street in Cherry Creek, Denver, and products ship across the continental U.S. from theambrosianpantry.com. Parmigiano, butter, an onion, white wine and parsley come from any grocery.