The mushroom sauce that is the base for Lucia’s risotto is flavourful and rich, with herbs and vegetables and gives her risotto a great flavour and depth.

Risotto is a classic Italian dish and cooked with the mushroom sauce until it is al dente and creamy makes a delicious and filling meal.

(The sauce is so good it could aalso be an accompaniment for meat dishes)

Lucia’s Rich Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients:

Mushroom Sauce:

• 250g Button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 large clove of garlic, minced
• 11/2 Tblsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 knob of butter
• 1Tblsp tomato paste
• 1 small bunch of parsley, finely chopped
• 1 sprig of rosemary, finely chopped
• 1small stalk of celery, trimmed and finely chopped
• 1 small carrot cut into slices
• 1 cup of dry white wine
• Home made chicken or vegetable stock
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Risotto:

• 300g Arborio rice (1cup)
• 1L chicken or vegetable stock
• ½ cup of Parmesen cheese, grated
• 30g butter

Method:

Mushroom Sauce:

1. In a heavy based saucepan, heat Extra Virgi Olive Oil and a small knob of butter
2. When the butter foams add the onion and cook until transparent, about 8 minutes
3. Add the chopped garlic and cook for a minutes
4. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute
5. Stir in the white wine and cook for five minutes until the wine has evaporated
6. Add the sliced mushrooms, parsley, celery, rosemary and carrot chunks
7. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper
8. Cover with stock and simmer for 45 minutes or until the sauce thickens and the carrots are tender
9. When the carrots are cooked use a fork to crush them and stir through the sauce
10. Set aside to cool if making ahead for another day or continue to make the risotto as follows

Making the Risotto:

1. Place the stock to simmer on another burner
2. In a heavy based saucepan add a tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and then add the rice stirring for a few minutes to toast it
3. Add the prepared mushroom sauce and stir through
4. Add a ladle full of the simmering stock and stir
5. Continue adding ladlefuls of stock as it is absorbed and stir often to make sure the mixture doesn’t stick and that the rice thickens
6. Cook the rice until it is al dente, about 20 minutes. With about 5 minutes to go until cooked add any extra stock sparingly as once absorption has been reached the rice will over cook if the extra liquid is too much
7. When the rice is cooked it should be creamy. Remove from the heat, stir in the 30g of butter and the Parmesan cheese
8. Serve with a little more grated Parmesan cheese on top and enjoy