Dried porcini mushroom risotto with chicken

Risotto: a delightful carb feast from northern Italy. This is my absolute favorite recipe for mushroom risotto, and we have enjoyed it many times at home. The savory mushroom flavor balances well with the acidity of the wine and the creaminess of the butter and cheese. A touch of sage rounds out the flavor, and little chicken makes it a complete meal. Well, with a little salad on the side 😉.  If you want a vegetarian meal or want your mushroom risotto as a starter, as is traditional in Italy, you can leave out the chicken without regret.

Key points about the ingredients:

• Chicken stock Use a high-quality chicken stock. This ingredient imparts a lot of flavor to the rice. The choice of stock can make or break the dish. I highly recommend making homemade stock from leftover chicken bones—the flavor is fantastic. Also, use stock with little or no salt added. You can adjust the salt later if needed. For a quick homemade chicken stock recipe, see my recipe for making stock in the pressure cooker.
• Dehydrated mushrooms These are crucial to the dish, as the name dried mushroom risotto implies. The recipe only calls for 50 g (a little less than 2 oz), but they are packed with flavor.  Porcini is a wonderfully gourmet variety with their savory, nutty flavor. Definitely worth the splurge. Because these dried mushrooms can be wide and don’t pack consistently into a measuring cup, I recommend a scale to check how much you’re using.
• The rice. The most common rice for risotto in America is arborio. In Italy, you may find other types of short-grain rice, such as carnaroli. The key to a risotto rice is that it can absorb liquid (and the flavor of your stock) and release starch (making your risotto creamier). Do not wash the rice before cooking—any starch on the rice surface will make the risotto creamier. Rice meant for risotto will also stay firmer during cooking rather that getting too soft if overcooked. The bottom line: the long-grain rice that is great with your stir fry won’t work for risotto.
• White wine If using cooking wine that already contains salt, be sure to reduce the amount of added salt. Also, a dry wine will work best here.

General steps in cooking risotto:

1. Soffritto: Sauté the onion in oil to add flavor to the rice.
2. Tostatura: Add the rice and cook until translucent.
   • This step is part of what makes the difference between risotto and flavorful boiled rice. Coating the rice with oil and cooking, but not burning, makes the surface of the rice more resistant to cooking. This step reduces the risk that the rice will break apart during cooking and helps keep a firmer texture
3. Sfumatura: Add wine and cook it off.
   • Over high heat, relatively cool wine hits the rice, and the thermal shock lets the rice release more starch.
4. Cottura: Add hot stock ½ cup at a time, until absorbed.
   • Here, as the rice cooks in the stock, more starch escapes from the rice. If the stock is added cold, the chill interrupts the cooking process. After each ladle of stock, the rice should be just covered in broth to facilitate cooking.
5. Mantecatura: Add the final ingredients.
   • This is the creaming step, where you add cold butter and grated cheese. Add any other final ingredients here, too. After adding the creamy ingredients, covering the rice off heat for two minutes will let the risotto get even creamier.

Vegetarian? To make this recipe vegetarian, leave out the chicken breast, use vegetable stock, and make sure your cheese is vegetarian-friendly (certified Parmesan cheese uses calf rennet).

How to store: This mushroom risotto will keep for a few days in the refrigerator. This recipe can be frozen, but the texture will be impacted (harder, grainier texture). If you do want to freeze, it will keep for up to three months.

Print Recipe

Dried porcini mushroom risotto

Dried porcini mushrooms bring exception flavor to this mushroom risotto. The chicken is optional to make this a more complete meal.

Total Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: chicken stock, dried porcini mushrooms, risotto

Servings: 4

Author: Eats from Elsewhere

Ingredients

Risotto

• 50 g dried porcini mushrooms
• 500 ml hot water (2 cups)
• 60 ml olive oil (¼ cup)
• 2 onions, diced about 100 g (4 oz)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh sage leaves divided
• 1 tsp salt
• Black pepper to taste
• 400 g arborio rice (2 cups)
• 250 ml dry white wine, cold or room temperature (1 cup)
• 800 ml good-quality, unsalted (or low-salt) chicken stock (about 3 ½ cups)
• 55 g butter (4 tbsp)
• 40 g grated Parmesan cheese (½ cup)

Chicken

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 chicken breast, pounded flat, about 1 cm (½ inch) thick

Instructions

• Prepare the mushroom stock: Soak the 50 g dried mushrooms in 500 ml hot water for at least 30 minutes. Once rehydrated, remove the mushrooms with a slotted spoon and roughly chop into approximately 1-2 cm pieces, and set aside. The left-over liquid is your mushroom stock. If you have a very fine strainer, you can strain the stock to get out the dirt and fines that may have settled to the bottom of the bowl. If not, try to leave what has settled undisturbed and ladle out the stock as needed later.
• Soffritto: Heat the 60 ml (1/4 cup) olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat, and cook the 2 diced onions for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add 1 clove garlic, 1 tbsp sage leaves, 1 tsp salt (or less if stock is already salted), and black pepper, and cook for another minute.
• Tostatura: Add 400 g (2 cups) rice, and cook for 3-4 minutes until translucent, stirringly frequently. You want to toast, not burn the rice in this step.
• Sfumatura: Raise the heat, and add 250 ml (1 cup) white wine. Cook until the wine has evaporated.
• Cottura: Reduce heat, and add 1 cup of chicken stock and let cook, uncovered, at a constant low simmer until the stock is mostly absorbed. Keep adding stock, ½ cup at a time, each time the stock is mostly absorbed, alternating between chicken and mushroom stock. I added about 3 cups chicken stock and 1 ½ cups mushroom stock.
• Cook the chicken: While the rice is cooking, heat the remaining 2 tsp olive oil in a small pan over medium heat and cook the chicken until golden and cooked through. Cut into bite-sized pieces.
• Mantecatura: After 15-20 minutes, the rice should be al dente—cooked, but still a bit firm—and the stock mostly absorbed. If you prefer your risotto all’onda, “on the wave”, leave a little more stock unabsorbed. Mix in the chopped rehydrated mushrooms, cooked chicken, 1 tbsp sage, cold butter, and grated Parmesan. Cover and let sit 2 minutes.
• Serve in a bowl, garnished with extra sage and Parmesan.