MUSHROOM RISOTTO BY TOM WALTON

With passion for health, fitness, lifestyle and wellbeing, Tom’s style of cooking goes beyond healthy eating, but also the way we eat and buy produce, by supporting and celebrating local growers, food producers and farmers.

Tom began his career in the kitchen at then 2 hatted regional restaurant Darley’s in the NSW Blue Mountains, before joining the team at 2 hatted restaurant Bistro Moncur in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, where he honed his French technique, leading the kitchen as head chef. In 2011 he opened The Bucket List in Bondi with his business partners and after 8 successful years he has since branched out with Deus Camperdown and most recently Nudefish Poke takeaway eateries, as well as starting his own snack brand Dux Nutts.

Follow Chef Tom Walton on Instagram or Facebook @cheftomwalton

I love making mushrooms the star of this luxurious risotto, perfect with a delicious wine to match.

Ingredients

• 1.25L vegetable stock

• 30g dried mushrooms

• 5 tbsp olive oil

• 1 small brown onion, finely diced

• 2 clove garlic, finely chopped

• Sea salt & fresh ground black pepper

• 1 1/3 cups arborio rice

• 2/3 cup dry white wine

• 30g unsalted butter

• 2/3 cup grated parmesan + extra piece to serve

• 1 punnet mixed mushrooms (enoki, shitake, king brown, shimeji, sliced & trimmed

• 5 swiss brown mushrooms, thickly sliced

• 1 clove garlic, sliced

• ½ cup flat leaf parsley

• 100g soft goats cheese

Method

1. Bring the vegetable stock to a simmer then turn right down to keep hot. Place the dried mushrooms into a small bowl and cover with ½ cup warm water to soak for 10 minutes.

2. Place a medium saucepan over a medium/high heat and add 3 tbsp of olive oil, the onion, garlic and pinch of salt. Sweat this for 5 minutes, until the onion is soft then add the rice and stir through, cooking for another 1 minutes. Stirring constantly.

3. Add the wine to the pan and stir this through the rice to absorb then begin adding the hot vegetable stock a ladle or so at a time and stirring constantly as it absorbs through the rice and the risotto starts to become creamy.

4. Continue adding the stock after each ladle has been absorbed then towards the end, add the soaked mushrooms and their water and stir them through.

5. While the risotto is cooking, place a medium frying pan over a high heat and add 1 tbsp of oil. Add the more dense, hardier mushrooms with a pinch of salt and sauté until lightly coloured. Add half the garlic and toss through then spoon the mushrooms onto a plate and repeat, cooking the remaining mushrooms. Add half the parsley to the mushrooms and the other half leave for the risotto.

6. Once the rice is cooked and the risotto is loose and creamy, remove from the heat, add the butter, parmesan, parsley and adjust the seasoning to taste. Cover the risotto and let it sit for 2-3 minutes.

7. To serve, spoon the risotto onto plates and top with some mushrooms, goats cheese and finish with some extra parmesan, a drizzle of olive oil and crack of black pepper.

Serves 4