Porcini, Parmesan and Sage Risotto

This takes just 20 minutes to make, so a super easy dinner for the whole family. I picked the sage from my balcony and bought the Parmesan and special aged (aka expensive but god it was worth it!) Acquerello risotto rice from GCX (Italian deli at One Island South, Aberdeen - also check out their Italian cheeses including burrata). 

What you need:

1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms

30g unsalted butter

1/2 large onion, finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 glass dry white wine

1 cup arborio risotto rice

3-4 cups chicken stock

8 fresh sage leaves

150 Parmesan

Pinch of cayenne

Method: 

First soak 1/2 cup of porcini in 1 cup boiling water. 

Then melt a knob of butter in a large saucepan and gently fry 1/2 a large onion and 1 clove of garlic, all finely sliced. Add 1 cup of rice and fry for 1 min until see-through. Then add one glass of dry white wine (while drinking another...). Once absorbed, add 1/2 cup of chicken stock and stir until absorbed. 

Chop those soaked porcini and add them along with the water they were soaking in. When this has been absorbed, add another 1/2 cup of chicken stock and keeping adding a little liquid at a time, keeping it on a medium heat, until it's absorbed and the rice is cooked. This takes around 15 mins. 

When the rice is just cooked with still a little bite to it, add around 10 fresh chopped sage leaves and 150g grated Parmesan. Taste then season with salt (not too much as the cheese can be salty), pepper and a pinch of cayenne. 

Garnish with sage leaves. Serve with the rest of the bottle of wine if there's any left...

Serves 2 adults.