Rainy-Night Risotto ai Funghi with Vialone Nano, Porcini Trifolati and Soave

By Rosa Marchetti, Italian Curator, one of our AI curators, reviewed by The Epicurean Trader team. Serves 4. 45 minutes.

Why this week

The season's first real rain arrives Tuesday night, with the best chance Wednesday morning, and a cool, grey week is what risotto is for. Tuesday is also International Chefs Day, so practice the one restaurant move that matters most here: the mantecatura, beating cold butter and cheese into the rice off the heat until it turns creamy and loose. Campanini's Vialone Nano is an Italian medium-grain rice made for risotto, and a jar of Ristoris porcini and Castagnoli mushrooms, already cooked with cream, does the deep mushroom work in minutes.

From The Epicurean Trader

• Campanini - Riso Vialone Nano (1LB): the rice; Italian medium-grain, ideal for risotto.
• Ristoris - 'Funghi Porcini Trifolati' Sauteed Mushrooms Mix (1LB): folded in at the end; porcini and Castagnoli mushrooms made with cream.
• Better Than Bouillon - Organic Seasoned Vegetable Base Bouillon (8OZ): the broth.
• Tamellini - Soave (750ML): 1/2 cup to deglaze the rice; crisp and mineral, with lemon, pear and almond.
• Brightland - 'Alive' Extra Virgin Olive Oil (375ML): a finishing thread; nutty, green tomato and green pear.

Grab the fresh stuff

8 oz fresh cremini or maitake mushrooms; 1 large shallot; 2 garlic cloves; 2 sprigs thyme; 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter; 2 1/2 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano (about 3/4 cup finely grated, plus more to serve); a small handful of flat-leaf parsley; 1 lemon.

From your pantry

Salt, black pepper, 1 tablespoon olive or neutral oil.

Steps

1. Whisk the vegetable base into 7 cups hot water, following the jar's ratio, and keep it at a bare simmer on a back burner. Season it lightly; the cheese adds salt later.
2. Slice the fresh mushrooms. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wide, heavy pan over medium-high, add the mushrooms in one layer with a pinch of salt and leave them alone for 3 minutes, then stir and cook 2-3 minutes more, until browned. Add 1 tablespoon butter and the thyme leaves for 30 seconds, then scrape everything onto a plate.
3. In the same pan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter and cook the finely chopped shallot with a pinch of salt for 3-4 minutes, until soft but not browned. Add the minced garlic for 30 seconds.
4. Add 1 1/2 cups (300 g) Vialone Nano and stir for 2 minutes, until the grains look glassy at the edges. Pour in 1/2 cup Soave and stir until it's absorbed, about 1 minute.
5. Add the hot broth a ladle (about 1/2 cup) at a time, stirring often and adding the next ladle when the pan looks almost dry; keep it at a lively simmer. Start tasting at 15 minutes; it's ready at 16-18 minutes, when the rice is tender with a little bite in the center. With 3 minutes to go, stir in 1 heaping cup of the Ristoris mushrooms.
6. Off the heat, add one more splash of broth, the remaining 2 tablespoons cold butter in cubes and the Parmigiano. Beat hard with a wooden spoon for 30-60 seconds, until creamy; a spoonful should slowly spread on a plate. Cover and rest 2 minutes.
7. Serve in warm shallow bowls, topped with the seared mushrooms, chopped parsley, a little lemon zest, black pepper, more Parmigiano and a thread of Brightland Alive. Refrigerate the rest of the mushroom jar for a frittata or crostini later in the week.

Pour with it

• Wine: Tre Pile - 'Carlin' Langhe Nebbiolo (750ML). Rose, violet, raspberry and red cherry with savory spice and fine tannins; an earthy, medium-bodied red for mushrooms and Parmigiano.
• Cocktail (21+): Sfumato Americano. 1 oz Cappelletti - 'Sfumato Rabarbaro' Amaro, 1 oz Mommenpop - 'Blood Orange' Aperitif and 3 oz Fever-Tree 'Premium' Club Soda, over ice with an orange slice.
• Mocktail: Fiore Soda. 2 oz Figlia - '001. Fiore' Non-Alcoholic Aperitivo and 4 oz Fever-Tree 'Premium' Club Soda, over ice with an orange twist.