Wild Mushroom Risotto

Risotto /rɪˈzɒtəʊ/ noun An Italian dish of rice cooked in stock with ingredients such as vegetables and meat or seafood.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 liters of chicken stock, hot
• 1 handful of dried shiitake mushrooms
• 1 small brown onion, peeled and chopped into 4 pieces
• 2 sticks of celery, trimmed and chopped in half
• 400g of arborio risotto rice
• 75mL of white wine, I used Pinot Grigio
• 2 handfuls of spinach and rocket
• 4 large handfuls of wild mushrooms cleaned and sliced; I used enoki, shiitake, shimeji and swiss brown
• A few sprigs of fresh parsley, cleaned and chopped
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp of butter
• 1 tbs of garlic infused olive oil
• Salt and pepper to season

Method:

1. Heat the stock in a saucepan and keep it on a low simmer.
2. Place the dried shiitake mushrooms in a small bowl and pour in just enough stock to cover. Leave them to re-hydrate for a few minutes. Spoon the mushrooms out of the stock and roughly chop, reserving the stock.
3. Add the celery and onion to a food processor and blend until finely chopped. In a large pot with a wide base heat the olive oil, celery and onion on a low heat for 5 minutes. 
4. Turn the heat up high and add the rice. Give it a good stir before adding the white wine. Keep stirring until the liquid has cooked into the rice.
5. Now pour the shiitake soaking stock into the pot and add the chopped re-hydrated shiitake, a pinch of salt, and 1 ladle of hot chicken stock. 
6. Turn the heat down to a simmer and keep adding ladles of stock, stirring the rice, allowing each ladle to be absorbed before adding the next. You generally know to add more stock when the rice starts to hold to the pan. Carry on adding stock to the rice until it is soft, this will take about 30 minutes.
7. When the risotto is nearly ready, grill the wild mushrooms in a large hot pan until soft. Put them into a bowl and add the chopped parsley, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Using your hands toss everything together.
8. Take the risotto off the heat and add the butter, spinach and rocket. Give it a good stir. Leave it to rest for 3 minutes with a lid on to allow the spinach and rocket to wilt.
9. Serve the risotto topped with the grilled wild mushrooms and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.