Oven-Roasted Wild Mushroom Risotto

Preheat the oven to 300 F./150 C.

First of all you need to soak the dried mushrooms and to do this you place them in a bowl and pour a pint of boiling water over them. Then just leave them to soak and soften for half an hour.

Meanwhile chop the fresh mushrooms into about 0.5 inch (1 cm) chunks - not too small, as they shrink down quite a bit in the cooking.

Now melt the butter in a medium saucepan, then add the fresh mushrooms and the chopped onion and let them cook over a gentle heat for about 20 minutes, until the onion is soft and pale gold.

Now put the gratin dish in the oven to warm. When the porcini are ready, place a sieve over a bowl, line the sieve with a double sheet of absorbent kitchen paper and strain the mushrooms, reserving the liquid. Squeeze any excess liquid out of them, then chop them finely and transfer them to the pan to join the other mushrooms and the onion.

Now add the arborio rice and stir it around to get a good coating of butter, then add the madeira followed by the strained mushroom-soaking liquid. Add a level teaspoon of salt and some freshly milled pepper, bring up to simmering point, then transfer the whole lot from the pan to the warmed grain dish. Stir once and place it on the centre shlf of the oven without covering.

Set a timer and give it 20 minutes, then gently stir in the grated parmigiano, turning the rice grain over. Now put the timer on again, and give it a further 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and put a cloth over it while you invite your guests to be seated.

Like souffles, risottos won’t wait, so serve immediatamente on warmed plates and sprinkle with the shavings of parmigiano.