# Mushroom Risotto (Instant Pot) #recipe Mushroom risotto in the Instant Pot — porcini-deep, no constant stirring, on the table in 35 minutes. Serves 4. ## Ingredients - 30 g dried porcini (funghi porcini secchi) - 300 ml boiling water (for soaking the porcini) - 200 g champignon mushrooms, sliced - 100 g pleurotus (oyster) mushrooms, torn into strips - 1 medium shallot (or small onion), finely diced - 30 g butter (for the sauté) - 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil - 320 g carnaroli rice (or arborio) - 100 ml dry white wine - 700 ml hot vegetable or chicken stock - 40 g cold butter, cubed (for the mantecatura) - 70 g Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated - A few drops of fresh lemon juice (or sherry vinegar) - 2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped - Salt, to taste - Freshly ground black pepper ## Method 1. **Soak the porcini.** Pour the boiling water over the dried porcini in a small bowl. Leave to soak for at least 15 minutes. 2. **Strain and chop.** Lift the rehydrated porcini out, squeeze gently, and chop roughly. Strain the soaking liquid through a fine sieve lined with kitchen paper to catch the grit. Reserve both. 3. **Sear the fresh mushrooms separately.** Heat a wide frying pan over medium-high heat with a knob of butter and a splash of olive oil. Add the champignon and pleurotus in a single layer (work in batches if needed) and sear hard until properly browned and any released water has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside — these go in at the very end. 4. **Sweat the shallot.** Set the Instant Pot to Sauté (Normal/Medium). Add the olive oil and 30g butter. Once the butter has melted, add the shallot and a pinch of salt. Cook until soft and translucent but not browned, about 6 minutes. 5. **Add the rehydrated porcini.** Stir in the chopped rehydrated porcini and cook for a minute or two to drive off any remaining moisture. Season with pepper. 6. **Toast the rice.** Add the carnaroli and stir for about 90 seconds. The rice should turn slightly translucent at the edges and smell faintly nutty. 7. **Deglaze with wine.** Pour in the white wine and stir until almost fully absorbed. 8. **Add the liquid.** Pour in the strained porcini liquid and the hot stock. Stir once to make sure no rice is stuck to the bottom (this prevents the burn warning). 9. **Pressure cook.** Cancel Sauté. Lock the lid, valve to Sealing. Pressure Cook (Manual) on High for 5 minutes for carnaroli, 6 minutes for arborio. 10. **Quick release.** As soon as the timer finishes, do a Quick Release — turn the valve to Venting. Don't let it natural-release or the rice will overcook. 11. **Mantecatura.** Open the lid. The risotto will look loose — that's correct. Off the heat, add the cold butter, the parmigiano, the seared mushrooms, and a few drops of lemon juice. Stir vigorously for about a minute until the butter melts and the texture goes glossy and creamy. 12. **Rest.** Cover and leave to rest for 2 minutes. The risotto should reach *all'onda* consistency — it ripples like a wave when you shake the pot. If it's too thick, splash in a little hot stock or water and stir. 13. **Serve immediately on hot plates.** Warm the plates in a low oven or under hot water beforehand — risotto loses its texture frighteningly fast on cold plates. Scatter with parsley and an extra grind of pepper. ## Notes - **Liquid ratio.** Pressure-cooker risotto needs less liquid than stovetop because almost no evaporation occurs during cooking. The total here (porcini water + wine + stock = 1100ml for 320g rice) is calibrated for the Instant Pot. If you scale, scale liquid proportionally and have extra hot stock to hand at the mantecatura in case you need to loosen. - **The lemon trick.** A few drops — literally a squeeze, not a slice — sharpen the dish without making it taste lemony. Mushroom risotto can become very round and heavy in the Instant Pot version specifically, because you lose some of the top-note brightness that gradual stovetop reduction preserves. The lemon brings it back. - **Don't tip the porcini soaking liquid down the sink.** It's the secret weapon. Strain it carefully — porcini come with a lot of grit. - **Quick release is non-negotiable.** Natural release continues cooking the rice and turns it to mush. - **Sear the fresh mushrooms hard.** Crowded pan = steamed mushrooms = grey and slack. Work in batches if needed and don't stir constantly — let them sit and brown. The pleurotus in particular benefits from really aggressive heat; it crisps at the edges and adds textural contrast. - **Mantecatura matters.** The final beating-in of cold butter and parmigiano off the heat is what makes risotto risotto rather than rice porridge. Don't skip the resting step either. - **Variants.** A spoon of mascarpone at the mantecatura adds richness. A small drizzle of truffle oil or fresh truffle shavings (in season) makes it celebratory. For a meatier version, add 50g pancetta at the sauté stage with the shallot — pancetta integrates more cleanly with porcini than guanciale, whose cured funk competes.