Three Layer Cake

Risotto ai Funghi  - Porcini Mushroom Risotto

September is mushroom season and not too long from now in a town called Vetralla, about 50km from where I live, there will be the Porcini mushroom festival.  We just had our first big precipitation of the season (I don't say the R word, I'm superstitious) and it should have brought out some good finds.  The neighbors are gutting and remodeling their home, so their yard is a mess and I guess that means that the farmer who had been gathering all their mushrooms (i.e. trespassing) won't be back this year.  But you don't need fresh porcini mushrooms to make this risotto.  You can use dried ones, they work just fine.  That way you can enjoy it year round.  I learned to make risotto from a former Roman cab driver who later became a cook in the United States.

• 3T olive oil
• 250g Arborio rice
• 5 cups high quality broth (chicken or meat or vegetable)
• 1 small white onion
• 1 small carrot
• 1 small rib of celery
• 1 clove of garlic
• ½ c white wine
• 1/3 c parmesan
• 25g butter (1 T)
• handful of dried porcini mushrooms

 
Put the dried mushrooms in a bowl of warm water and let stand for half an hour.  Squeeze the mushrooms of excess water and slice into smaller pieces.  You can conserve the water to use in the risotto, but be sure to strain it to remove the dirt. 

Bring water to a boil to prepare the broth.  Chop onion, carrot, celery into fine pieces (or use food processor).  In a wide, low-sided pan, sauté garlic and previously diced vegetables in olive oil over a low flame.  Once the onion has softened, add the rice.  Stir frequently until all of the rice is well coated with oil.  Discard the garlic.  Add the mushrooms.  Add white wine and let the rice cook until wine has evaporated, stirring frequently.  Add the broth, one cup at a time, stirring frequently, and waiting until all broth has been absorbed before adding more broth.  The rice is cooked when it is firm to the bite, but no white remains in the middle, about twenty minutes.  Remove from heat.  Add the butter and parmesan and stir well.

The rice should be uniformly creamy (mantecato in Italian) and should move in a “wave” pattern when the pan is tilted up.  Runny is not good, nor is too sticky.  If you don’t have carrots and celery, you can use only onion.

Substitutions:
 
Once you've mastered this, you can make a risotto out of just about anything you like.  You can used zucchini, potatoes, pumpkin, or any range of vegetables (maybe not red peppers or eggplants…) in place of mushrooms in this recipe.