Wild Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto

Risotto is one of my favorite dishes. If done right, Risotto can be a fantastic, if done wrongly it can be the worst! Risotto should not be able to be formed, you should not be able to make a tower etc. Risotto done properly as the Italians make it is when it becomes amazingly creamy and oozy. Below is the recipe for risotto Bianco (white risotto) this is the base recipe for all risottos, from this you can add whatever you like, i have gone for Asparagus and Wild mushroom, enjoy!

Ingredients:

Risotto Bianco

2 pints of stock ( vegetable )

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 knob of butter

1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

4 or 5 sticks of celery, trimmed and finely chopped

400 g risotto rice

2 wineglasses of dry white wine

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

70 g butter

115 g freshly grated Parmesan cheese

For the Asparagus and Wild Mushroom

8 tips of Asparagus
150g of Wild Mushrooms
Knob of butter
olive oil
salt and pepper

What to do:

In a pan heat the stock. Put the olive oil and butter into a separate pan, and add the onion, garlic and celery, and cook very slowly for about 15 minutes without colouring. 

When the vegetables have softened, add the rice and turn up the heat.The rice will now begin to lightly fry, so keep stirring it. After a minute it will look slightly translucent.

Now add the wine, keep stirring continuously until all the liquid has evaporated. Once the wine has cooked into the rice, add a ladle of stock and a good pinch of salt. Turn the heat down to a simmer so the rice doesn't cook too quickly on the outside, add the next ladle full of stock once the last has been absorbed ( see picture below)

keep doing this until all the stock has been used. You should be stirring continuously as this helps the risotto by bringing the creamy starch out of the rice. This will take around 15 minutes.

Handy Tip:

Taste the rice to check if it's cooked. If not, carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but has a slight bite.

Check the risotto for to see if it needs seasoning (salt and pepper) . If you run out of stock before the rice is cooked, add some boiling water. Take the pan of the heat and then add the butter and Parmesan. Stir well.

Once the Parmesan and the butter have melted in cover the pan and allow to rest for 2 minutes. This is the crucial part as it allows the risotto to fantastically creamy and oozy like it should be.

For the Asparagus and Wild Mushroom

In a pan over a medium heat, add a knob of butter and a splash of olive oil (the olive oil stops the butter burning).  Cut each asparagus tip into three chunks ( do this for all of them) and place in the butter and oil heat for around 2 minutes

Now roughly chop the mushrooms up (big chunks) and add to the pan and stir, add a pinch of salt and peeper.

Cook for around 5 minutes (or until the asparagus is cooked, it should have a bite to it). Take of the heat and add to the pan of Risotto Bianco, mix and serve.

This is great with char grilled ciabatta bread slices which have been rubbed with garlic.

Recipe for Risotto Bianco Jamie Oliver

 Photos by Rach Grice