Full of the delightfully robust flavours of earthy mushroom and herby sage, this simple risotto is a long-standing classic for good reason. Enriched with butter and parmesan, and scattered with crisp sage leaves it's a hug in a bowl.
Peel the eschalot and finely chop. Slice mushrooms. Peel and thinly slice garlic. Pick sage leaves from their stems and finely dice stems, keeping leaves separate.
Place stock cube and 750ml (3 cups) water in a saucepan over high heat and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and keep warm.
Heat butter and sage leaves in a frypan over medium heat. Cook sage leaves for 1 minute or until fragrant and crisp. Remove and drain on paper towel. Add sage stems, garlic and eschalot with a pinch of salt to pan and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until softened but not coloured.
Add mushroom to frypan and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until caramelised and golden.
Add rice to frypan and stir for 1–2 minutes or until well coated. Add hot stock, 250ml (1 cup) at a time, stirring continuously and allowing stock to be absorbed before adding the next cupful. Continue adding stock gradually until all stock is used, the rice is cooked and mixture has thickened. This will take about 20 minutes. The rice should be creamy but still retain some ‘bite’.
Stir ½ the parmesan through risotto and season to taste. Spoon risotto into bowls and top with remaining parmesan, crispy sage leaves and black pepper to serve.