Risotto with mushrooms for a hearty lunch: how to achieve the perfect consistency

Risotto is a popular Italian rice dish. The rice is not crumbly, but has the consistency of porridge. It is especially delicious with mushrooms.

The idea of cooking a hearty risotto with mushrooms for lunch was published on the Instagram page of food blogger Vitalina with the nickname v.vanilinka. You will get a real restaurant dish at home.

Ingredients for 4-5 servings:

• 200 g of rice (choose starchy varieties - arborio, carnaroli, etc.)
• 350-400 g of mushrooms: chanterelles, porcini, champignons
• 1 small onion
• 5-8 cloves of garlic
• a few sprigs of thyme
• 80 g of white wine
• 80 g of grated Parmesan cheese
• 500 ml of broth (chicken or vegetable)
• 60 g of butter
• salt, pepper
• olive oil

Method of preparation:

1. Wash, peel and chop fresh mushrooms. If using dried mushrooms, soak them in cold water. Do not pour out the water, it has a wonderful mushroom flavor that will complement the taste of risotto.

2. Pour oil into a frying pan, add garlic, thyme, and some mushrooms (it is important that there is one layer of mushrooms) and cook for 7-10 minutes. Add a little salt and pepper. Put the cooked mushrooms on a plate and use them when serving.

3. Bring the mushroom water and broth to a boil.

4. Finely chop the onion, crush the garlic with a knife.

5. Add oil, a spoonful of butter to the same pan where the mushrooms were fried and sauté the onion with garlic and thyme.

6. When the onion becomes transparent, add the remaining mushrooms, salt and pepper, and add the rice in a few minutes.

7. Fry everything together for a few more minutes, stirring constantly. Add the wine and cook until it evaporates completely.

8. Now cook the risotto over medium heat, gradually adding the mushroom water first, and when it is finished, the broth. Taste and salt in the process.

9. When the rice is almost done (soft grains, but the middle is hard), add the rest of the butter, stir, add Parmesan, and if necessary, a little more broth.

10. The risotto will take about 20 minutes to cook.

11. Before serving, fry the mushrooms that were cooked at the beginning with butter in another skillet for a while.

12. Put the risotto on a plate, top with mushrooms, drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with Parmesan.