Creamy Wild Mushroom & Mascarpone Orzo

Ingredients

• 300g orzo
• 600ml hot vegetable stock
• 500g mixed wild mushrooms, sliced
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tsp thyme leaves
• 150g mascarpone
• 40g Parmesan, finely grated
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• salt and black pepper, to taste
• ciabatta, to serve
• rocket salad, to serve

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a wide stainless or cast iron pan over a high heat until it shimmers. Pat the mushrooms dry first — water means steam, and steam means no browning.
2. Add the mushrooms in two batches with a generous pinch of salt. All at once and the pan crowds, the liquid pours out, and you've boiled them instead of browned them. Leave them alone for the first couple of minutes, then stir only occasionally, until the edges are deeply bronzed and slightly crisp, about 8 minutes per batch. Return the first batch to the pan.
3. Push the mushrooms to one side and drop the shallot and garlic into the cleared space with a touch more oil if the pan looks dry. Sweat the shallot until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes, then cook the garlic just until fragrant — 30 seconds, no more. Burnt garlic turns the whole dish bitter. Stir through the thyme leaves.
4. Tip in the orzo and toast for a minute, stirring so each grain picks up the pan flavours and the fond on the base — those stuck-on bits are pure savoury depth.
5. Pour in the hot, well-salted vegetable stock — it should taste properly seasoned, like the sea, because this is the only chance to season the orzo from within. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 10–12 minutes until the orzo is tender with a slight bite and the stock is mostly absorbed into a loose, creamy starch.
6. Pull the pan off the heat. Stir through the mascarpone and Parmesan until the sauce turns glossy and clings to every grain. If it tightens up, loosen with a splash of just-boiled water until silky.
7. Grate in the lemon zest. Taste, season with salt and black pepper, taste again. Adjust now — at the end, not at the table. The dish should feel rich but lifted, with the lemon humming underneath.
8. Spoon into warm bowls, scatter with extra thyme leaves and a final shower of Parmesan, and bring the warm ciabatta and a sharp rocket salad to the table alongside.