How to make mushroom spelt risotto with Cornish kern cheese

Chilly autumnal days call for comforting, cheesy risotto

The award winning cheese delivers an umami hit (Photography by Julia Platt Leonard)

When my cheesemonger slid a wedge of Cornish kern across the deli counter, I felt we were doing a backroom deal in black market gems.

And perhaps we weren’t far off. Cornish kern from Lynher Dairies was crowned Supreme Champion at the World Cheese Awards in 2017 and is a hot ticket.

It’s a medium-hard cheese, buttery with hints of caramel, and inspired by gouda-style cheeses. It takes a full sixteen months to mature.

Needless to say, there’s a queue of cheese lovers desperate to sink their teeth into it.

I happily nibbled my way through a sizable chunk then decided to grate some precious grams for a spelt risotto.

Cornish kern has an umami hit so it can stand up quite nicely, thank you, to autumnal mushrooms.

As for the mushrooms, go as exotic as you like or stick closer to home with a mix including brown button mushrooms.

Serve the dish with extra grated cheese on the side and then hide any cheese that’s left. There are limits to sharing, after all.

(Julia Platt Leonard)

Mushroom spelt risotto with Cornish kern cheese

Serves 2

150g spelt
1 small onion, diced
400g mixed mushrooms such as brown button, shiitake​ and oyster
12g dried porcini mushrooms
100ml hot water
500ml warm vegetable stock
45g unsalted butter
Splash of white wine (optional)
40g Cornish kern cheese or a Comte or Gruyere, grated
Handful of parsley, roughly chopped

Place the dried porcini mushrooms in a small bowl and cover with the hot water. Set aside so they can rehydrate.

Prepare the fresh mushrooms. If you’re using brown button or shiitake mushrooms, remove the stems and add them to the warm vegetable stock. Slice or gently tear the mushroom caps into pieces. Place 30g of the butter in a pot, melt it and add the mushrooms. Stir to coat in the butter and sauté until cooked. If using oyster mushrooms, tear them along their ribs for long strips and add them later in the cooking process as they take less time. Should the mushrooms look dry, add another knob of butter. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and keep warm.

Return the pan back to the stove, add the remaining 15g of butter and then the chopped onions. Cover and sauté until soft but not brown. Rinse the spelt and add to the pan. Stir to coat and cook for a minute or two to toast the grains.

Pick out the porcini mushroom pieces from the liquid and set them aside. Strain the liquid to remove any dirt or sediment. If using the wine, add the splash now to the pan. Allow to bubble and evaporate. Next add in the strained mushroom liquid. Stir and allow to evaporate as well. When the liquid is almost completely absorbed, strain the vegetable broth to remove the mushroom stems and add about 100ml into the pan. Continue to cook the mixture down and add more liquid until the spelt grains are just al dente. You’ll need about 350ml of liquid if you use the wine, a bit more if you don’t.

Add back in the sautéed mushrooms and the porcini mushrooms. Stir in about half of the grated cheese and the chopped parsley. Cook for a minute or two then divide the mixture in half into two bowls. Top with the remaining cheese and serve hot.

@juliapleonard