Porcini Mushroom Risotto

Porcini Risotto from Italy, on your plate in 18 minutes

Viani Porcini Risotto is an Italian ready-made mix of risotto rice and dried porcini mushrooms, packaged in a handy 300g bag — your weekday-friendly luxury with a mushroom aroma, creamy and al dente on your plate in just under 18 minutes.

The Porcini Risotto – Risotto ai Porcini from Antonio Viani's range brings an honest Italian ready-made mix into your home: Italian risotto rice, dried porcini mushrooms, and a subtly seasoned base that lets the mushrooms take center stage. The 300 grams are enough for two hungry eaters or three small primi portions — an after-work dish with a Sunday feel, an Alba atmosphere for a Tuesday evening.

Earthy, creamy & with bite

Even when you open the bag, you can tell what to expect: the aroma of dried porcini mushrooms is wonderfully spicy — a very Italian signature known from Piedmontese autumn cuisine. As the mushrooms begin to rehydrate with the rice during sautéing, this warm, forest-like scent fills the entire kitchen.

On the tongue, the porcini risotto remains mild and creamy, with a spicy, deeply mushroomy mid-palate and an unobtrusive, almost buttery-soft finish. The rice shows the typical bite of Italian risotto varieties: velvety on the outside, al dente on the inside. No over-seasoning, no harshness — the mushrooms are allowed to lead.

We like it solo with Parmesan

Porcini risotto loves warm, earthy accompaniments: a ladle of good chicken or veal broth, a knob of cold butter at the end, and freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano. We prefer to eat it as a classic Primo Piatto, i.e., as the first course of an Italian menu — solo, with nothing more than butter and Parmesan. This way, you taste the mushrooms most purely, just as you would be served them in a good Piedmontese trattoria.

It also pairs beautifully with autumnal companions on the plate: with briefly fried radicchio, with a medallion of veal, with a tender slice of venison, or a piece of roasted poultry. A few drops of truffle oil at the end turn it into a small feast — subtle, not showy, just the way we like it.

Our tip: The next day, porcini risotto tastes particularly good as arancini — put a mozzarella ball inside, bread it, and fry briefly in olive oil. A small leftover wonder.

Antonio Viani, honest messenger of good Italy

Behind this porcini risotto is Antonio Viani, who came to Göttingen in the early 1960s. In 1973, he began importing Italian truffles there, which were hardly known in German kitchens at the time — first preserved, then fresh.

From this founding moment, a Lower Saxon family business has grown over the decades, now led by his son Remo from Göttingen, stocking around 3,000 products from some 400 artisanal producers: olive oils, pasta, aceto, antipasti, cheese — and risotto in many varieties. The porcini risotto is one of the ready-made mixes from this range, designed for weeknight evenings: decent, honest, not overblown.

Here's how to make the risotto: put the contents of the mix with a little olive oil in a pot, let the rice become translucent for a short time, and deglaze with a splash of white wine. Then gradually add hot chicken or veal broth and continue stirring calmly. The more calmly you stir, the slower the rice releases its starch coating — and the creamier the consistency will be in the end.

After 18 minutes, remove from heat al dente, stir in a knob of cold butter and about 40g of grated Parmesan, let the pot rest for 3 to 5 minutes, then serve. During this short break, the risotto will continue to cook, become silkier, and absorb the butter. You can find more from Viani's Italian shelf in our collection Antonio Viani Imports, and more risotto, sugo, and pasta in Pasta, Risotto & Sugo. Hats off.