Our friend Celine surprised us with a package of frozen as well as fresh black truffles last month. It is always such a beautiful treat to receive a package from her but this one totally blew our mind. What did we do to deserve such a generous gift? Usually, when we are lucky enough to have fresh truffles in the kitchen we lean towards making something exotic. This time around we decided to cook with a more traditional approach. One of the recipes that came to mind was this classic Black Truffle Risotto.
Risotto is one of those classic dishes that can really hold it’s own with many different variations. The past few months it has actually become a staple in the kitchen as it is also economical to make. A huge bag of arborio rice costs about $6 and lasts us for a few months. All that is needed is different add-ins such as roasted vegetables, prosciutto, leftover chicken, tomatoes, or some fresh herbs with cheese to change up our basic risotto recipe. We often refer to it as a clean out the refrigerator recipe.
I have spoken of Celine and how wonderful she is every time I work with truffles. Hands down her fresh truffles are the best we have had, ever. She works with the best restaurants and chefs in the world which speaks volumes. Did I mention how wonderful her premade truffle products are as well? That truffle honey as well as the truffle butter is insanely exotic. When this heavenly packaged arrived on our doorstep we decided to fancy up dinner as well as our basic risotto recipe.
We love the pungent aroma of a fresh truffle combined with the deep earthy flavors. Our opinion fresh truffles definitely add a bit of a gourmet taste to an otherwise ordinary and simple recipe. This recipe came out rich with flavor as well as texture. It definitely made us feel a bit fancy with each bite. Enjoy!
Black Truffle Risotto
There is nothing better than a bowl of homemade Black Truffle Risotto. Made with fresh black truffles, olive oil, butter and parmesan cheese with gives it a great creamy texture. Risotto is easier to make than you have been lead to believe with our easy recipe.
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 cups vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 1/2 cups arborio rice
- 2 tablespoons minced black truffle
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
- salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
- black truffle shavings for garnish
Instructions
Heat the stock in a large saucepan and set aside.
Place a deep frying pan over medium-low heat and add the olive oil and the yellow onion. Cook until soft but not browned; about 3 - 5 minutes. Add the thyme and stir.
Pour the arborio rice into the onion/thyme mixture and stir. Reduce the heat to low on the stove.
Add the warmed stock a ladle at a time, stirring to combine. Continue stirring until the liquid has absorbed then add another ladle.
Continue this process until the arborio is al dente and creamy.
It is not necessary to continue stirring the entire time and it is okay to walk away for a minute or so, but try to keep stirring as much as possible. Will produce a creamy risotto.
Once the mixture is cooked to al dente, add the minced black truffle along with the butter. Stir to combine, then add the parmesan while stirring.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve with more black truffle shaved over the top.
Eat.
Notes
Risotto is not has hard as you have been lead to believe. It just takes a little time and patience.