Turkey, Wild Mushroom and Parmesan Risotto

Serves 4

50g dried porcini mushrooms

50g butter

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped

350g Arborio risotto rice

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

175ml white wine

Sea salt and black pepper

1.3 litres homemade turkey stock or vegetable stock

400g cooked Totally Traditional Turkey, skinned and roughly chopped

50g parmesan, finely grated

A handful of torn basil leaves

4 rashers grilled streaky bacon or pancetta rashers

Soak the mushrooms in in 500g boiling water for 20 minutes then drain the liquid into the stock, discard the last 3 tablespoons of the liquid. (sometimes dried wild mushrooms can be gritty)

Chop the soaked mushrooms and set aside.

To make the risotto, add half of the butter to the saucepan with the olive oil, heat over a medium heat and fry the onion until it is soft but not coloured, add the mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes, stir in the rice and garlic and cook for a further 1 minute, stirring constantly, making sure the rice is coated with the onion and oil.

Pour over the wine and let it bubble until it has evaporated, season well with sea salt and black pepper. Start to add a quarter of the stock, simmer the rice, stirring often until the rice has absorbed all of the liquid.  Repeat the process until all of the stock has been used up; the rice should be creamy and plump, add the turkey and continue stirring until the rice is cooked and the turkey is reheated thoroughly.  If the rice is still a little undercooked, add more stock or water.

Take the pan off the heat; add the remaining butter and cheese, adjust the seasoning. Cover and leave for 5 minutes to enable the rice to soak up any excess liquid as it cools.

Give the risotto a stir and serve with extra parmesan cheese and the basil leaves, top with the grilled crispy bacon or pancetta (optional).

You can use leeks instead of mushrooms; also this dish is good with white and dark roasted turkey meat. You can also use a good quality shop-bought stock in place of homemade stock.