Oven-baked Mushroom Risotto

Serves 4-6

One of the advantages of making a baked risotto is that it can be prepared ahead and finished off in the oven to brown the top and melt the cheese when you are ready.

Julie Biuso's oven baked mushroom risotto. Photo: Shared Kitchen

Ingredients

• 4 Tbsp butter
• 500g medium-sized closed cup portabello mushrooms, wiped with a damp cloth and cut into thick slices
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 400g can crushed Italian tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp finely chopped basil
• 1 litre (4 cups) light vegetable stock
• 350g Italian arborio rice
• 100ml dry white wine
• 50g (½ cup) freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 150g mozzarella cheese, drained and sliced

Method

Heat a large frying pan (skillet) over a high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of butter, let it sizzle and add mushrooms. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring once or twice; the butter will be absorbed and the pan dry. Season, lower heat and continue stirring until juices start to run from the mushrooms. Cook until most of the juice has evaporated.

Put oil and 1 tablespoon of butter in a heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until pale golden. Add tomatoes, basil and ½ teaspoon of salt. Cook gently, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Pour all but ½ cup of the mixture into a bowl. Set aside.

Bring stock to a simmer, then set heat so it is kept very hot, but doesn’t boil and evaporate.

Add rice to the tomato sauce in pan. Increase temperature to medium-high and stir for 2-3 minutes. Pour in wine and cook, stirring, until it has evaporated. Then stir in a ladleful of stock. This will evaporate quickly. Add a second ladleful of stock and stir gently, but continuously, until stock has evaporated. Continue cooking in this way, stirring every few seconds (if you don’t stir, the rice will stick to the pan), adding more stock once the rice is no longer sloppy. Continue until the rice is about three-quarters cooked. Aim to finish with the rice sloppy but not soupy (15-18 minutes).

Layer ingredients in a buttered 20cm (8”) ovenproof dish. Put in half the rice and parmesan, all the mushrooms, tomato sauce and mozzarella, then finish with remaining rice and parmesan. (The dish can be prepared ahead to this point and refrigerated, but it must be brought to room temperature before cooking.)

Dot the top with butter. Bake risotto in an oven preheated to 200°C for 15-20 minutes, until crisp on top and heated through. Allow risotto to stand for 5 minutes before serving.