Risotto ai Funghi

As I've said before, when you're making risotto, use the rice that you like to eat. I've used rose matta rice for this risotto, and while it doesn't have the same starch content as arborio, still makes a nice nutty and earthy risotto. Also, with risotto, be generous with the butter, you can run it off later, but to really make a delectable plate of risotto, you can't skimp on the butter. Lastly, to add a richness to the risotto, it needs a little cheese to just lift it up. Typically the cheese used is a mature parmesan or grana pandano, but both are quite sour and salty cheeses, and I'm not a fan of such mature cheeses. Thus, I've used processed cheddar instead as it adds that slight sweetness to the risotto.

Ingredients

• 1 cup rose matta rice, washed and cleaned
• 4 mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 tsp chili flakes
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp dried oregano leaves
• 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 6-7 slices of black olives
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp oil
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tbsp granted processed cheese

Method

1. Heat the stock and bayleaf till boiling, and then take off the heat.
2. Heat 2 tbsp of butter and oil in a pan. Once foaming, add the garlic and fry till it starts to turn brown.
3. Add the mushrooms and oregano. Cook on medium heat until the oil starts to separate.
4. Add the rice and stir around till the oil coats each grain.
5. Cook for a minute, until the rice turns a little opaque.
6. Add the olives and wine and stir around vigourously to evenly distribute the wine. Cook covered until the wine is absorbed.
7. Reduce the heat to low, and add a ladle full of the warm stock and the bayleaf. Stir around and cook covered until the stock is absorbed.
8. Continue adding a single ladle-full and cooking until absorbed, until one ladleful remains.
9. Add the last ladle of stock, salt, pepper, remaining butter and cheese. Stir vigorously and cover. Cook until the cheese has melted into the sauce, and a thin sauce remains.
10. Check the rice, it should be chewy in the centre.
11. Remove from the heat and let it stand, covered, for 5-10 minutes. Then remove the bay-leaf and serve up immediately.