Risotto with mushrooms and speck
Prep time: 35 minsTotal time: 
Risotto with mushrooms and speck
This is autumn at its best. With risotto, you want to make it really wet, so that it finds the edges of the plate or bowl – it should always be piping hot and eaten with a fork, not a spoon
Prep time: 35 minsTotal time: 
Theo Randall
Theo Randall
Ingredients
- 30g dried porcini mushrooms
- 6 tbsp olive oil
- 450g portobello mushrooms, cut into 1cm slices
- 1 garlic clove, sliced
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, plus extra sprigs to garnish
- 1.5 litres vegetable stock*
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 sticks celery, finely chopped
- 1 x 80g pack Taste the Difference prosciutto di speck, diced
- 300g risotto rice
- 75ml dry white wine
- 25g unsalted butter
- 50g Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
Step by step
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Soak the porcini in 200ml boiling water and set aside. Meanwhile, add 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and the fresh mushrooms, garlic and thyme to a large frying pan. Cook over a high heat for 10 minutes, or until the mushrooms have reduced and have a dark, syrupy appearance.
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Strain the porcini through a fine mesh sieve, reserving the liquid. Add the porcini and liquid to the pan and cook until all the mushrooms are fully reduced, around 5-10 minutes. Season, leave to cool then remove the mushrooms from the pan, finely chop and set aside.
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Heat the stock in a pan. In a separate large pan with straight sides, add the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil with the onion, celery and speck. Cook over a medium heat for 3 minutes then add the rice and cook for a further 3 minutes, until the rice absorbs the oil and starts to go translucent. Add the wine and cook, stirring, until absorbed, then slowly stir in the hot stock, ladle by ladle, so the rice is always just covered. After 10 minutes, it should be almost soupy, and the rice should have a good bite. Add the mushrooms and keep stirring, then reduce the liquid until the risotto starts to thicken.
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Add the butter and half of the cheese and stir vigorously to combine before taking off the heat. Cover with a lid and let sit for 2-3 minutes. Season to taste, give it one last stir and serve topped with the remaining cheese and garnished with the extra thyme sprigs.
*Ensure stock is gluten free, if required.
