Forest Risotto

Greetings from Krakow, Poland! It's so much cheaper to cook than to eat out here in Poland, especially so when I have friends to split the cost of the ingredients. There's generally a good selection of locally produced fresh tomatoes, dried and fresh mushrooms, things like rhubarb and parsnips (which are usually rare in Singapore). Oh, and the herbs too, excellent choices available. So for tonight, we decided on Forest Risotto, which is just a fancy name for mushroom risotto. Here's the recipe for fans of mushrooms and risottos, and for those who are interested in trying out.

Photo courtesy of Marilyn

Ingredients (Serves 4) Approx cooking and prep time - 1 hour
400g of Arborio rice (available at good supermarkets)
300g of fresh mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
50g of dried mushrooms (porcini is preferred), reconstituted in hot water
1 to 1.5l of chicken or beef stock
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
Olive oil
A knob of butter
Pinch of dried thyme
Grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Steps
1. Heat up an open pan on high heat. Add the knob of butter along with some olive oil. The purpose is to help control the browning of the butter. Add the chopped onions to the pan and fry till transparent and lightly browned.
2. To the onions, add the rice and fry till the rice becomes slightly translucent.
3. Add the liquid and the reconstituted mushrooms into the rice mixture
4. Add enough chicken stock to the pan till it just covers the rice. Keep agitating the rice by gently shaking the pan instead of stirring it to prevent the rice from releasing too much starch into the risotto, making the dish too sticky
5. Repeat step 5 till the rice is cooked through. Sprinkle some thyme over the risotto and fold it in.
6. Heat up another frying pan. Add the sliced fresh mushrooms and fry till the liquid from the mushrooms dry out. Add a small amount of butter and thyme to lift the flavour and aroma.
7. Serve the risotto direct on the pan, or on a warmed deep-dish. Top it off with the sliced mushrooms and grated parmesan cheese, or a raw egg yolk or poached egg. Drizzle some olive oil or truffle oil.
8. Enjoy.