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Porcini mushroom and spinach risotto

A soul-warming risotto from delicately simmering carnaroli rice in a rich vegetable stock, infusing it with earthy porcini mushrooms, Parmesan, and mascarpone.

Preparation time
less than 30 mins

Cooking time
over 2 hours

Serves
Serves 2

By Theo Randall
From Saturday Kitchen

Ingredients

For the vegetable stock

  • 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 1 leek, washed and roughly chopped
  • 2 celery sticks, washed and roughly chopped
  • 1 tsp sea salt

For the risotto

  • 200g/7oz spinach
  • 75g/2¾oz unsalted butter
  • ½ garlic clove, crushed in salt
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 small white onion, finely chopped
  • 1 celery stick, finely chopped
  • 250g/9oz carnaroli rice
  • 20g/¾oz dried porcini mushrooms, soaked and finely chopped
  • 100g/3½oz Parmesan, grated
  • 75g/2¾oz mascarpone
  • 1 tsp chopped flatleaf parsley
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

  1. To make the vegetable stock, place all the ingredients along with 3 litres of cold water into a large saucepan and slowly bring to the boil. Turn down the heat to low and simmer very gently for 20–30 minutes, then strain through a sieve into another pan. Keep warm.

  2. To make the risotto, bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Add the spinach, stir so it is submerged under the water and count to ten, then transfer the spinach to a colander and squeeze with a pair of tongs until there is no more excess water. Chop finely on a chopping board and leave to one side.

  3. Melt 25g/1oz of the butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat, then add the crushed garlic in salt and cook for 30 seconds. Add the chopped cooked spinach, mix well then remove from the heat and leave to one side.

  4. In a hot, straight-sided saucepan add the olive oil, onion and celery. Cook for 2 minutes then add the carnaroli rice, cook for a further 3 minutes stirring continuously, then start adding the vegetable stock, a couple of ladles at a time.

  5. Stir the risotto and make sure that the rice is always covered by 2cm/¾in of stock. Cook for 10 minutes then add the chopped soaked porcini mushrooms. Cook for a further 8 minutes then add the grated Parmesan, 50g/1¾oz butter, mascarpone and parsley. Stir vigorously until the risotto is emulsified, then check the seasoning and the texture of the rice – it should have a nice bite. Season with some salt and freshly ground black pepper, if needed. Place a lid on the risotto and leave to rest for 2 minutes.

  6. Serve the risotto in hot bowls with a spoonful of the chopped garlicky spinach in the middle.

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