
Porcini Mushrooms Risotto (AD)
If you (like me) love a good porcini mushrooms risotto, this is one recipe to save in your ‘favourites’ folder. It makes an elegant, filling dinner for two, to be savoured along a glass of well chilled white wine. Ah, and did I mention that it is vegan too?

How to Prepare Dried Porcini Mushrooms
The good thing about dried porcini mushrooms is that it only takes some water to bring them back to life. Once soaked and rehydrated, the mushrooms can be drained, chopped and added to soups, sauces, stews and other dishes. I also like to use the soaking liquid – which is full of flavour and will add extra richness to the dish.
When rehydrating dried porcini mushrooms you can use either hot water or room temperature water. The hot water will produce a darker liquid and will slightly speed up the soaking process. In contrast, soaking the dried mushrooms in room temperature water will take a bit longer and the soaking liquid will be paler in colour.
Cooking Notes
This is a vegan version of the classic Porcini Mushrooms Risotto recipe, so it does not include butter or parmesan. I have slowed down the cooking process in order to add more creaminess and compensate for the lack of dairy. I have also used extra virgin olive oil as well as the soaking liquid in order to enhance the flavour of the risotto. Porcini mushrooms love herbs, especially parsley, sage or rosemary. You can use any of these herbs or a mix if you prefer – and you can be as generous as you like.
Porcini Mushrooms Risotto
Ingredients
- 30 g Epicure Dried Porcini Mushrooms
- 160 g Arborio rice
- 1 shallot
- 50 ml white wine
- fresh parsley
- olive oil
- salt & black pepper
Instructions
- Soak the mushrooms for 20 minutes in 250 ml water.
- Drain, pat dry and chop the mushrooms.Reserve the soaking liquid.
- Sweat the finely chopped shallot in a pan with a glug of olive oil.
- Add the Arborio rice and continue cooking until it becomes opaque (2-3 minutes).
- Add the white wine and cook until the alcohol has evaporated.
- Add the mushrooms and then gradually add the soaking liquid, cooking on low heat and stirring continually. Continue cooking until the rice is creamy but still al dente.
- Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Before serving add fresh herbs and an extra drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
I picked the Epicure Porcini Mushrooms for the Ingredient of the Week Challenge hosted on Instagram. So feel free to tag me @mintandrosemary and @EpicureCooks if you want to recreate this recipe or if you wish to share your own recipe creation. Remember to use the hashtags: #TheWeeklyIngredientbyAndra and #BeEpicurious. The Epicure Porcini Mushrooms and other products are available at Ocado.