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Risotto Ai Funghi

A creamy Italian rice dish cooked with mushrooms, onion, garlic, wine, stock, butter, and Parmesan.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Risotto Ai Funghi

Time15–20 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the mushrooms

  1. If using dried mushrooms, soak them for at least 20 minutes in 200 ml warm water.

  2. Once reconstituted, chop about half into small pieces and roughly chop the rest.

  3. Fresh mushrooms do not need soaking.

Make the risotto

  1. Melt half the butter in a medium pan over medium heat.

  2. Sweat onion and garlic in butter until onion is translucent; do not let them burn.

  3. Add rice, swirl to coat with butter, and leave for about 30 seconds.

  4. Add wine, letting it fizz and evaporate.

  5. Add about half the stock slowly, one ladle at a time.

  6. Stir rice every 2 minutes; add more stock if needed.

  7. After about 5 minutes, add mushrooms and their liquid; avoid adding dirt from dried mushrooms.

  8. Continue cooking until rice is al dente, about 15–20 minutes; test with spoonfuls.

Finish and serve

  1. Remove from heat; stir in parsley, remaining butter, and about 2 Tbsp Parmesan; adjust seasoning.

  2. Let stand 2 minutes, then serve.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

785Calories
56 gProtein
32 gFat
61 gCarbs

Counts 10 of 11 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Chicken100g cooked165
Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Parmesan Cheese1 oz (28g)110
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Wine2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)25
Mushroom1/2 cup sliced (35g)15
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Porcininot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Chicken + mushroomtop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,172 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-butyl acetate (fruity, banana).

  3. Garlic + parsleytop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,308 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  4. Rice + chickentop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,769 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).

  5. Garlic + mushroomtop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,700 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Arborio, vialone nano, or carnaroli risotto rice
Its starch releases gradually during stirring, creating the creamy texture of the risotto.
Salted butter
Adds richness and fat, helping to coat the rice and give a silky finish.
White onion
Provides a sweet, aromatic base as it softens in the butter.
Chicken stock
Supplies liquid that the rice absorbs slowly, cooking it while building flavour.
Porcini mushrooms
Contribute a deep, earthy flavour that defines the dish.
Parmesan cheese
Adds savoury depth and helps make the finished rice creamy.

The step that matters

Adding the stock gradually and stirring. Adding liquid a ladle at a time and stirring releases starch from the rice surface, which thickens the ddish into a creamy texture. Adding too much liquid at once or stopping stirring leaves the rice soupy or unevenly cooked.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, butter, onion, garlic, chicken, mushroom, parsley):

  1. Thymefits better
  2. Cuminfits better
  3. Marjoramfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against rice, butter, onion, garlic, chicken, mushroom, parsley. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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