Risotto A La College

1. 1

   Mince the onion, mince the garlic, finely dice the carrot, finely dice the celery and rehydrate the porcinis in some tepid water. The vegetables need to be cut small enough to cook quickly (see step 2 below). Heat the stock close to boiling, and get a ladle handy.

2. 2

   Heat a glug or so of olive oil in a heavy bottom cast iron pan. Do not let it smoke, but come close. Toss in the rice, the onion, the celery and the carrot. Season with salt and paper, stir lightly, and watch carefully. The rice is toasted properly when it is no longer translucent at all and even slightly yellow, but definitely not brown at all. Add the garlic right at the end.

3. 3

   Splash the rice/vegetables with the wine (I know, I know) and stir with the wooden spoon to make absolutely sure nothing's stuck. Once this has bubbled up for a second, start adding half ladlefulls of stock, stirring constantly with your wooden spoon. Wait until the last ladlefull is almost completely absorbed before adding more. After a few ladlefulls, add the porcinis, the bay leaf and the sage.

4. 4

   As the rice is absorbing more and more liquid, start leaning into your stirring - really grind that shit, ultimately. You want to occasionally catch and crush a grain between your spoon and the pan. This is the part that I think makes me a total heretic. Oh well.

5. 5

   When the rice will absorb no more stock, it is done. This typically takes about 35 minutes. Scrape it out into a bowl, add the cheeses and stir through. I drip a little truffle oil on when I serve it sometimes, although I am aware that that makes me an insipid boor.

* Per serving · 4 servings · Values may vary.