What’s On meets the head chef at Abu Dhabi’s Bentley Bistro and Bar at The Galleria, Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi, to get his no rice risotto recipe.

Bentley’s Bistro and Bar is one of many restaurants taking part in The Galleria’s Restaurant Month promotion this June, and they invited What’s On down to meet head chef Marouane Bouhmidi, and learn how to make Bentley’s signature appetiser dish, ‘no rice risotto’.

Marouane is from Morocco and became a chef in 2003. Not only has he worked with Michelin star chefs, he’s worked in Qatar, Europe and Lebanon during his career and starred in TV cookery show Top Chef in 2012.

“Many people think normal risotto is too creamy and too heavy. So we came up with this dish. It’s not heavy but it still looks like risotto,” says Marouane. “It’s not difficult to make. You must get the stock right, though, as that’s where the flavour comes from.”

Ingredients

For the mushroom stock
1 button mushroom
1 garlic bulb
1 sprig of thyme
1 shallot
1 sprig of rosemary
10g of butter

For the risotto
1 small potato
1 oyster mushroom
1 portabella mushroom
1 shimeji mushroom
1 shallot
1 garlic bulb
20g of butter
1 sprig of parsley
15g of mascarpone cheese

Step 1: make the mushroom stock
* Roast the sliced mushrooms and mushroom trimmings with butter, shallots, garlic, thyme and rosemary.
* Add the roasted mushrooms to a pot and cover with water, simmer until the stock is reduced by half.

Step 2: food preparation
* Prepare and chop the different types of mushrooms, shallots, garlic and parley. Finely slice the potato into cubes.

Step 3: cooking
* Using a non-stick pan, add the butter and sauté mushrooms, shallots and garlic. Add the diced potato. Add enough of the mushroom stock to cook the potato. Once the potato is tender, finish with mascarpone cheese, parsley and parmesan.

Bentley Bistro and Bar, The Galleria, Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi, daily 9am to 2am. Tel: (02) 6262131. Taxi: The Galleria, Al Maryah Island. bentleybistro.com