Gordon Ramsay’s mushroom risotto is earthy, creamy and full of umami, made with fresh wild mushrooms, white wine, mascarpone and Parmesan, ready in about 35 minutes. It comes from Make It Easy, and it’s also one of the dishes contestants mess up most on Hell’s Kitchen.
He also builds a mushroom risotto base in the Cookery Course as the starting point for arancini, though that version uses dried wild mushrooms instead of fresh. Two books, two approaches, both worth knowing about.
The quiet detail most people miss is ground coriander seeds. A teaspoon goes into the rice in Make It Easy, which sounds odd but adds a warm lift that stops the mushrooms tasting heavy. Nobody else does this.
Gordon Ramsay Mushroom Risotto Recipe
Course: Dinners, RisottoCuisine: British, ItalianDifficulty: Easy4
servings10
minutes25
minutes380
kcal35
minutesAn earthy, creamy wild mushroom risotto finished with mascarpone and Parmesan, ready in 35 minutes. The secret ingredient is a teaspoon of ground coriander that lifts the whole dish, about £2.40 per person.
Ingredients
- For the Risotto:
750ml vegetable stock
3 tbsp olive oil
2 large shallots, finely diced
2 celery sticks, finely sliced
200g risotto rice
1 small glass dry white wine (about 125ml)
1 tsp ground coriander seeds
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- For the Mushrooms and Finish:
100g oyster mushrooms, sliced
100g girolles, ceps or other wild mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp mascarpone or crème fraîche
2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan
1 tbsp chopped chervil or chives
Directions
- Heat the stock: Bring the vegetable stock to the boil, then keep it at a low simmer.
- Build the base: Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a deep sauté pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for 2-3 minutes until soft but not coloured, then add the celery for another 2 minutes.
- Toast the rice: Stir in the rice and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in the wine and cook until absorbed, then add a ladle of hot stock with the ground coriander and stir until the liquid is absorbed.
- Ladle the stock: Continue adding stock a ladle at a time, stirring and waiting until each addition is absorbed. The rice should be al dente and the risotto very moist and creamy. Season with salt and pepper.
- Sauté the mushrooms: Heat the remaining olive oil in a separate pan, add the sliced mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until softened. Stir them through the risotto.
- Finish: Add the mascarpone or crème fraîche, stir through, then divide between warm plates. Scatter the herbs and Parmesan over and serve.
FAQs
What mushrooms does Ramsay use in this risotto?
Fresh oyster mushrooms and girolles in Make It Easy. If you can’t find girolles, chestnut mushrooms work. The Cookery Course version uses dried wild mushrooms soaked for 20 minutes instead, which gives deeper flavour but softer texture.
Whatever you use, don’t skimp on the amount. On Hell’s Kitchen a contestant ran low and sent out a mushroom risotto with almost no mushrooms in it. Ramsay spotted it immediately and called it “a completely different dish.” The mushrooms are the whole point.
Why does Ramsay add ground coriander to mushroom risotto?
It’s in the Make It Easy recipe and sounds wrong until you try it. Ground coriander has a warm, almost citrusy note that lifts the earthiness without tasting like coriander at all. It goes in with the rice so it blooms in the heat. No other recipe site mentions this because they’re not reading the actual book.
Can I turn leftovers into arancini?
Ramsay does exactly this in the Cookery Course, calling it “effectively two meals in one.” Spread leftovers on a tray to cool, refrigerate, then roll into balls with mozzarella in the centre, breadcrumb and deep-fry. His words: perfect with a glass of prosecco. A a fillet steak with peppercorn sauce or his roasted duck with honey glaze alongside a smaller portion also works well.
Can I add chicken or use barley instead of rice?
Shredded roast chicken stirred through at the end makes this a heartier one-bowl meal, and it’s a combination Ramsay uses elsewhere in his books. For the rice swap, he suggests barley in the Cookery Course tomato risotto, calling it “a British twist” with “a lovely nutty flavour.” His website has a full mushroom barley risotto with truffle cheese that takes the idea further. Pearl barley needs about 30 minutes and more stock, but the technique stays the same.
How much does mushroom risotto cost per serving?
About £9.50 for four servings, so roughly £2.40 per person. The mushrooms are the biggest cost: Tesco Finest Exotic Mixed Mushrooms run £2.15 for 150g and you’ll need a bit more than one pack. Rice, mascarpone, Parmesan, wine and stock fill the rest. Probably the cheapest Ramsay dinner on the site, which is why he files it under “great fast food” in Make It Easy.
Does mushroom risotto store well?
Better than seafood risottos because there’s no protein to ruin. The rice stiffens overnight but a splash of hot stock on low heat brings it back. Keeps two days in the fridge, and you can freeze portions for up to a month though the texture softens a bit when defrosted.
That said, the arancini route from the Cookery Course is the better move for leftovers. Cold risotto rolled into crispy balls is genuinely better than reheated risotto, which is why Ramsay writes it as a two-meal recipe. His a proper Sunday roast takes the same plan-ahead approach if you like cooking that way. Mushroom risotto makes the best arancini the next day. I’ve tested all 15 of his risotto recipes and this is the most versatile.
