Chef Hawksworth's Mushroom and Truffle Risotto - Easter Seals BC and Yukon

ATW 2025 APRIL 10TH

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One of Chef’s favourite recipes from Hawksworth, the
Cookbook, this Mushroom and Truffle Risotto is a creamy,
flavourful dish guaranteed to be a hit at your next dinner party.

Serves 6

With risotto, you first have to find the right rice to work with. At the restaurant we use Acquerello, the very best aged Italian Carnaroli rice. You start with onion and olive oil, and you sweat, not sauté – you want no colour. Then you add the rice and wine, and start working that starch until you get it all nice and creamy. The key to all – what Marco had going at the Canteen – is to finish with acidulated butter, basically a beurre blanc with heavy acid. Then, your secret weapon is some lightly whipped cream, which you stir in at the very end. It puts this dish over the edge.

Risotto_Hawksworth

Photo Credit: Clinton Hussey

Ingredients

Acidulated Butter

¼ small white onion, roughly sliced

80mL (⅓ cup) white wine

40mL (scant 3 Tbsp) white wine vinegar

1 sprig thyme

1 bay leaf

100g (7tbsp) butter, cold, diced

Risotto

60mL (4 Tbsp) olive oil

60g (¼ cup) butter

125g (2 ½ cups) chanterelle mushrooms, whole or halved depending on the size

125g (2 ½ cups) morel mushrooms, sliced in rings

75g (1 ½ cups) oyster mushrooms, cut in big pieces

1 package (150g) white shimenji mushrooms, stems removed

1.3L-2L (6-8 cups) Chicken Stock

1 medium onion, finely chopped

250g (1 ¼ cups) Carnaroli or Aborio rice (see Note above)

Pinch salt

125mL (½ cup) dry white wine

200g (2 cups) grated Parmesan

30mL (2 Tbsp) cream, lightly whipped

¼ lemon, juice

15g (⅓ cup) chopped chives

1 small fresh black truffle, very finely julienned, or a drizzle of good-quality white truffle oil

Instructions

Acidulated Butter

Bring all the ingredients except the butter to a boil in a small pot over high heat. Reduce the heat, and simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated. You should be left with about 30mL (2 Tbsp) of liquid.

Remove from the heat and vigorously whisk in the butter until fully incorporated, making sure the butter stays emulsified. Purée in a blender until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and let cool (in the refrigerator or on the counter until set.

Risotto

Heat 30mL (2 Tbsp) of the oil and 30g (2 Tbsp) of the butter in a large skillet or a cast-iron pan over medium to high heat. When the butter has melted and starts to foam, add all the mushrooms. Depending on your pan, you may have to cook in batches. Cook and stir the mushrooms until lightly browned, about 5 minutes, adding a little more oil and/or butter if needed. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Set aside.

Heat the stock to a simmer in a medium pot then lower the heat so it just stays hot.

Heat the remaining oil and butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the onion and sweat for 2 minutes, until slightly translucent. Add the rice, and a pinch of salt, and stir with a wooden spoon so that the grains are coated with the oil and melted butter. This allows the rice to get a slightly nutty aroma. Deglaze the pot with the white wine and reduce until all the liquid has evaporated.

Add a ladle of the hot chicken stock to the rice and stir until the liquid is fully absorbed. When the rice appears almost dry, add another ladleful of stock and repeat the process. It’s important to stir constantly – especially while the stock gets absorbed, to prevent scorching – and to add the next ladleful as soon as the rice is almost dry.

Continue adding the stock, a ladle at a time, until the grains are tender but still firm to the bite, without being crunchy, about 20 minutes. If you run out of stock, you can finish the cooking with hot water, a ladle at a time.

Add the mushrooms, and stir in half the grated Parmesan, 75g (3 Tbsp) of the acidulated butter, and all of the lightly whipped cream, lemon juice, and chives. Season with salt if required.

Place a generous ladleful of risotto in each serving bowl. Garnish with the remaining grated Parmesan, and the truffle or a drizzle of good-quality white truffle oil.

Chef David Hawksworth sits at a table and smiles at the camera.

Photo Credit: Jamie-Lee Fuoco

About Chef David Hawksworth

Celebrated Chef David Hawksworth has been at the forefront of the Canadian culinary scene since returning home after spending more than a decade in Europe, honing his talents at some of the world’s most recognized Michelin starred restaurants including Le Manoir Quat’ Saisons, L’Escargot, and The Square.

He opened his first restaurant Hawksworth in 2011 which continues to earn critical acclaim, including recently being named to the “World’s Best Restaurants” by Forbes.
In the fall of 2015 Chef Hawksworth began a culinary partnership with Air Canada to design a selection of innovative, sophisticated, and Canadian-influenced seasonal signature dishes, featured exclusively on Air Canada flights in International Business Class and Signature Lounges. In 2019, Air Canada was recognized by Skytrax for offering the “World’s Best Business Class Lounge Dining.”

Hawksworth also owns and operates popular concepts Nightingale named “Canada’s Best Farm to Table Restaurant” and Bel Café. All demonstrate Hawksworth’s culinary expertise, talent for creative flavour combinations, his drive for perfection, and insistence on only the best ingredients.

Around the World

This memorable evening will bring your taste buds on a global culinary journey, commencing with a champagne reception, followed by an sumptuous four-course meal crafted by renowned Chef David Hawksworth. The entire event includes exquisite wine pairings carefully curated by Certified Sommelier, Dianne Fisher. To cap off the night, help us raise funds by participating in an exhilarating live auction, an extensive wall of wine, and an enticing grand-prize raffle draw.

Event Details

Thursday, April 10, 2025

Terminal City Club

837 W Hastings St

Vancouver, BC

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