Risotto with Wild Mushrooms and Mascarpone

In a small pan, heat the butter and sauté the mushrooms with the thyme. Set aside.

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and sauté the onion until slightly softened. Lower the heat, add the garlic and cook for about a minute. Add the rice and stir well. Let the rice warm up in the pan with the onion and garlic for a few minutes over low heat. Do not fry it, just warm it through.

Increase the heat to medium and begin adding the stock in several portions. Wait for the rice to absorb each portion of stock before adding the next. Stir constantly but gently. As you stir, the grains of rice release starch, which gives the sauce a delicate, creamy texture.

The total cooking time for the rice is about 20–25 minutes; you will judge whether you need to add more stock by seeing how far the rice is cooked, so that at the end there is at least a little liquid left in the pan, but it should be thicker and creamy. If the rice seems a bit dry, add a little more stock, but make sure not to overcook it, because it is most delicious al dente.

Just before turning off the heat, add the mushrooms and the mascarpone. Stir well and season with salt and pepper.

Risotto is cooked over low heat, and the stock or water you use must be hot and is added little by little, in portions, rather than all at once as with ordinary rice.

It is hard to calculate the exact amount of stock needed; the quantity depends on the rice you use. Usually the amount of stock needed is about 2.5 times the amount of rice you are preparing. If you have 200 grams of rice, you should prepare between 500–600 ml of stock.

Serve with grated Parmesan.

Variant: instead of mushrooms – ham.