Mushroom Risotto
This is following the recipe from Chanterelle, but it's a bit simplified, due to both time and material constraints.
The recipe wants dried porcini mushrooms, and a pound of white mushrooms. I used baby portabellas (not sure how much, but not a lot), and only half a pound of white mushrooms.
I boiled up 8 cups of chicken stock, and then turned off the heat and added the portabellas - this apparently will infuse the flavour of the mushrooms into the stock. Of course, you're supposed to use dried porcinis, and you are also supposed to wait half an hour. Not having so much time, I didn't wait, but started the other steps and removed the mushrooms from the stock as soon as I needed them (this was about ten minutes, I think). I'm not sure how much effect this had on the finished product; it certainly wasn't obvious that the chicken stock had been infused with the essence of the mushrooms, but it might nevertheless have improved the taste of the finished product.
Having boiled the stock, I sauteed the white mushrooms, and then removed them from the heat. I then sauteed some garlic (the recipe also calls for onion, which I lacked), and then added the rice to the skillet (a wok in my case, actually). I let the rice cook for a few minutes, and coated it in the garlic/olive oil mixture that was in the pan. I removed the portabellas from the chicken stock, chopped them up, and added them to the rice (the other mushrooms would be added at the end). I spent the next 35 minutes or so slowly adding stock, one cup at a time, and waiting for the stock to be absorbed before adding the next batch.
Having completed that (I ended up needing 7 cups of stock for 3 cups of risotto), I added the other mushrooms, a bit of white wine (the Chanterelle recipe didn't call for any, actually, but other recipes asked for 4 ounces), some heavy cream, and some parsley, as well as salt and pepper (I'm getting better, or at least more comfortable, with putting salt and pepper in large dishes - before, I was very afraid of oversalting).
The risotto was delicious, and while it is more effort than pasta, it's not actually much more time (though you have to spend it all cooking). Overall a very good experience, and I will cook risotto more in the future.
The recipe wants dried porcini mushrooms, and a pound of white mushrooms. I used baby portabellas (not sure how much, but not a lot), and only half a pound of white mushrooms.
I boiled up 8 cups of chicken stock, and then turned off the heat and added the portabellas - this apparently will infuse the flavour of the mushrooms into the stock. Of course, you're supposed to use dried porcinis, and you are also supposed to wait half an hour. Not having so much time, I didn't wait, but started the other steps and removed the mushrooms from the stock as soon as I needed them (this was about ten minutes, I think). I'm not sure how much effect this had on the finished product; it certainly wasn't obvious that the chicken stock had been infused with the essence of the mushrooms, but it might nevertheless have improved the taste of the finished product.
Having boiled the stock, I sauteed the white mushrooms, and then removed them from the heat. I then sauteed some garlic (the recipe also calls for onion, which I lacked), and then added the rice to the skillet (a wok in my case, actually). I let the rice cook for a few minutes, and coated it in the garlic/olive oil mixture that was in the pan. I removed the portabellas from the chicken stock, chopped them up, and added them to the rice (the other mushrooms would be added at the end). I spent the next 35 minutes or so slowly adding stock, one cup at a time, and waiting for the stock to be absorbed before adding the next batch.
Having completed that (I ended up needing 7 cups of stock for 3 cups of risotto), I added the other mushrooms, a bit of white wine (the Chanterelle recipe didn't call for any, actually, but other recipes asked for 4 ounces), some heavy cream, and some parsley, as well as salt and pepper (I'm getting better, or at least more comfortable, with putting salt and pepper in large dishes - before, I was very afraid of oversalting).
The risotto was delicious, and while it is more effort than pasta, it's not actually much more time (though you have to spend it all cooking). Overall a very good experience, and I will cook risotto more in the future.
posted by Ani at 8:26 PM
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