Steaming-pile-of-compost-inspired mushroom risotto

A couple of weeks ago, I headed out to a mushroom farm about half an hour from Canberra to pick up a cheap and enormous trailer load of – what else – mushroom compost! This is the stuff that mushrooms are grown in, and it’s usually made up of organic materials such as hay, straw, and poultry or horse manure.

Steaming pile of compost with a view

There’s not a lot of nutrients in the compost by the time the mushrooms are done with it, but it is a great soil conditioner as it adds organic matter, locks in more moisture, and keeps the soil cooler in warmer weather and warmer in winter. 

Swiss brown mushrooms

Anyway, so there I was standing beside an enormous steaming pile of the compost as a bulldozer scooped up a tonne and dropped it into the trailer. The smell that washed over me was almost decadent, an intoxicating, earthy, truffly scent that tempted me to tear into the nearby barn and fill my pockets with mushrooms to take home and fry up.

Instead, I settled for heading to the Capital Region Farmers Markets the next day, where I picked up a bag of button mushrooms from the same farmers that the compost came from, and some swiss brown mushrooms from another stall for a boost of that intense earthy flavour. The resulting mushroom risotto was like that compost smell on a plate – in a really, really good way. 

Mushroom risotto

Serves 3 people

Button mushrooms

200g chopped, sliced or diced mushrooms

Several cloves of garlic, crushed (or to taste)

1 finely diced onion

A couple of sprigs of lemon thyme, thyme and/or oregano

1 tsp each ground cumin and paprika

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper

A slosh of lemon juice

Two sloshes  of olive oil

1 cup Arborio rice

½ cup white wine

1 litre vegetable or chicken-flavoured stock

A few chopped leaves of kale or silverbeet, or a handful of baby spinach

(optional) a handful of parmesan

In a large saucepan, heat a slosh of olive oil to a medium temperature. Set a couple of mushrooms aside to add to the risotto later, and throw the rest in the pan, cook for a minute, then add 1-2 crushed garlic cloves, a sprinkle of thyme or oregano leaves, and the cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, and salt to taste. Stir regularly for a few more minutes until the mushrooms have softened nicely, then slosh in some lemon juice, give a vigorous stir, and empty the mushroom mix, including any juices, into a handy bowl.

Add another good slosh of olive oil to the same pan, over a low heat. Add the onion and gently cook it, stirring, for a couple of minutes. Add the rest of the garlic and keep cooking until it’s all nicely softened and translucent. Don’t let the onion brown as that will change the flavour. Turn the heat up to medium and add the Arborio rice. Stir it so that every grain gets coated in the oil and distribute the heat evenly. After a couple of minutes, pour in the wine – there should be a satisfying sizzle as it hits the pan. Stir it in, and while there’s still some liquid in the pan, add your bowl of mushrooms and their juices and start stirring.

There’s a couple of ways you can go from here. You can pour the stock in, stick the lid on and walk away for 20-25 minutes. You can add your stock very gradually and shake the pan gently every 3-5 minutes. I like to add the stock at about a cup at a time, and stir the risotto every minute or so – it ends up creamy and doesn’t stick to the bottom and burn. The other options work fine though. You don’t have to add the whole litre of stock, so going gradually will give you more control over how dry or wet the risotto is when you serve.

After about 20-25 minutes, give it a taste and texture test – the rice should just be starting to soften. When it’s a couple of minutes away from serving, stir in the last couple of mushrooms, a sprinkle of thyme and oregano, and your leafy greens. Add salt and pepper to taste. When the rice is just right – soft but still with a little bite in the centre of each grain – take it off the heat and serve as is or with parmesan and a nice drizzle of a quality extra virgin olive oil.

Feel free to experiment with the risotto – try other herbs, spices and seasonal vegies like broccoli. I happened to pull out my pumpkin vine on the same day so the last few pumpkin flowers added some colour and sweetness to my dish. Let me know how you go!