Wild mushroom risotto

Bring the stock to the boil, then take off the heat and add the dried mushrooms. Allow to infuse for 20 minutes, then strain, keeping the stock to make the risotto and setting the soaked mushrooms aside.

In a large sauté pan, heat 20g of the butter and fry the onion gently until soft. Add the rice and stir until it is coated in the butter. Pour in the wine to deglaze the pan and cook off until the pan is almost dry.

With the stock on a simmer, add a ladle at a time to the rice and stir until it has been absorbed. Keep stirring and adding more stock each time it gets absorbed (top up with hot water if you find you run out). This process means it will take about 25 minutes for the rice to cook. To test it, remove one grain and bite into it – there should be a tiny chalky middle of uncooked rice. This will slowly disappear as the rice continues to absorb moisture but will ensure that the rice remains “al dente”. Remove the pan from the heat and keep warm.

Meanwhile, take a frying pan and add 20g of the butter. Cook until it is nut brown, then add the wild mushrooms. Toss them around, with a good pinch of salt – this will extract some moisture. Cook until the moisture has been driven off (two to three minutes) then add another 20g of butter, a squeeze of lemon and a tablespoon of chopped chives. Stir to coat mushrooms and set aside.

Add the remaining 20g of butter to the risotto with 50g of the Parmesan. Keep stirring to make sure the butter does not split. It must remain an emulsion to achieve the texture of a smooth risotto. Stir the cooked and soaked mushrooms into the risotto and serve – the texture should be like lava, slowly settling to a level on the plate – with the remaining Parmesan for people to add. Drizzle over the truffle oil if using.