Porcini Potato Risotto

Traditional risotto is made with arborio rice, but with this dish I decided to use the technique of cooking risotto, with red potatoes instead of rice. The result is a delicate and creamy dish with the same rich flavors and substance of traditional risotto but with a new twist.

Red potatoes and dried porcini mushrooms slow simmered with shallots, garlic, fresh rosemary and chives, white wine and fresh mushroom stock.


Porcini Potato Risotto
1 oz dried porcini mushrooms
2 cups water
2 cups no-chicken vegetable stock
2 tbl extra virgin olive oil
1 shallot, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
coarse sea salt and pepper
1 lb red potato, peeled and diced into even sized very small cubes
2 tbl chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 cup white wine
3 tbl fresh chopped chives

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Remove from heat and add the dried mushrooms. Let sit and soak for 15 minutes. Drain the mushrooms and reserve the stock. Finely chop the mushrooms.
Bring the vegetable stock to a boil, then reduce to low and keep warm while making the risotto.
In a large sauce pan, heat the olive oil and saute the shallots until soft and translucent but not browned.
Add the garlic, mushrooms, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Saute for 2 minutes. Add the potato and rosemary and toss to combine. Pour in the white wine to deglaze the bottom of the pan, scraping up the bits. Stir the potatoes over medium-high heat and let the wine reduce.
Once the wine has reduced, add 1 cup of mushroom stock and stir often. Once reduced, add the remaining mushroom stock and repeat. Continue cooking the risotto, using 1/2 cup vegetable stock at a time once the mushroom stock has been absorbed. Make sure to stir often to ensure a creamy result. Once the last stock has been half absorbed and the potatoes are creamy and cooked through, taste and season with more salt and pepper and garnish with chives.