Wednesday Food Blogging: Three Mushroom Risotto

In wintertime, well-dressed risottos wear mushrooms and spinach.

To paraphrase J.D. Salinger: It's a perfect day for risotto. Actually last Saturday, when I had the afternoon free to spend in the kitchen, trying out a new recipe for a warm salad, simmering a stock, stirring and sipping my way through a batch of winter risotto.

Risotto is a very hands-on process. Unlike baking, where precise measurements are key, risotto will forgive your erring on the side of generosity. Especially when it comes to the wine. Heat, though, is more important. Try to keep the temperature even and hot enough for a fast simmer, and make sure the stock and wine are also warm (though not boiling, in the case of  the wine). A good wooden spoon is best for stirring, and if you can talk a menial servant (or alternatively, a dinner guest) into stirring while you prepare the rest of the meal, that's always a good idea.

The bottom line, though, is that with the right ingredients, risotto is very easy to prepare. It's also very versatile: winter, spring, summer, and fall vegetables all adapt to seasonal risottos. Mushroom and spinach for winter, pumpkin for fall, asparagus and pea for spring, and just about anything for summer.

I happened to have some portobellos, some mushrooms (the ubiquitous button mushrooms you can buy at any supermarket) and some dried porcinis. Whatever type of mushrooms you have hiding in your dark fridge will do. (Did you know cremini mushrooms are just baby portobellos? Did you also know the refrigerator is dark when you shut the door? But I do not know what a bananafish is. Some mysteries remain here at WDIK?.)

Three Mushroom Risotto:

1/4 cup olive oil, in all
2 shallots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cup risotto rice
1 generous cup dry white wine, in all
1 cup chopped button mushrooms
1 cup dried porcini mushrooms
1 cup chopped portobello mushrooms
6 cups vegetable stock, in all
1 cup chopped spinach
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
a dash of white pepper
possibly some vegan parmesan cheese

First, make a stock, and keep it simmering on the stove as you prepare the risotto. Reserve 1 cup of stock in a glass measuring cup, add 1 cup dried porcini mushrooms and let sit for 20 minutes until rehydrated.

Heat the wine in a microwave or in a pan, until it is warm to the touch. Do not boil.

Heat enough olive oil in a large dutch oven to generously cover bottom. Add shallots and cook until soft, about 3 or 4 minutes. Add garlic, and risotto rice. Saute 2 minutes, stirring constantly to coat rice grains with oil.

Add 1/2 cup of wine and stir as the alcohol evaporates, about 1 minute.

Begin adding hot stock, one ladle full at a time, stirring until liquid is incorporated, then adding more liquid as needed. (You will continue to do this throughout the process, for about 25 minutes.) After a few minutes, add button mushrooms and portobello mushrooms to the risotto mixture. Keep stirring.

Add the dried porcinis and the liquid you've rehydrated them in. (Chop them first into bite-sized pieces, or better yet, break them up before you put them into the liquid.)

When the risotto has cooked about 20 minutes, add spinach, the salt, and the pepper. Stir, and cook about 5 minutes.(Taste for seasonings at this point, and to check that the rice grains are soft. If not, keep cooking a bit longer, adding more stock.)

Add the rest of the white wine. Stir, and simmer another minute or two—not too long, or you'll lose the gorgeous taste of the wine.

Stir in another tablespoon or so of olive oil, and cover pot. Remove from heat. Let sit for a few minutes while you prepare the table. (If you haven't yet weaned yourself or your guests from the idea of dairy products, you may want to add some vegan parmesan cheese at this point.)

Note: as the rice absorbs more liquid, you may not need to stir constantly—just avoid letting it stick to the pan, and watch it carefully. Keep the heat on medium-high.  You may not use all the stock; conversely, you may use more. Use homemade if at all possible. (See below.)

Fresh stock for mushroom risotto:

Combine in a large stockpan: 2 carrots, cut in 2 or 3 chunks each, 1 onion, quartered; 1 leek, cut in half, 1 or two shallots, quartered; 3 garlic cloves; fennel stems; 1 or 2 stalks celery (plus leaves); 5 or 6 mushrooms; a few dried porcini mushrooms; various herbs, especially parsley, rosemary, bay leaves; whatever else you think might taste nice excluding cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, broccoli and the like), beets, or tomatoes.

Add 6-8 cups of water.

Simmer over medium heat for 1 hour.

Comments

[Imperatrix]

Mmm. This one looks tasty! But one of my favorite kitchen smells is mushrooms sauteing in butter (smells so woodsy and all that). So maybe I'll do it, but saute some mushrooms in a small pan on the side and incorporate them at the end.

[KathyF]

Not a bad idea at all.

[The Heretik]

Um, yum.

[Faux Real]

A bananafish is a used condom found in the water. Slang invented by WWII (or WWI, can't remember) military. It makes the story that much nastier, no?

[KathyF]

Eeew. Thanks for enlightening me. I think.

[KathyR]

Ooh. I loooooove mushrooms. I had mushroom risotto for dinner Saturday night. But I paid a restaurant too much money for mine and I'll bet yours is better.

[Houdini's Ghost]

Sadly, No! told me you're putting together a cookbook in the works to benefit MSF, and those guys never lie. I feel like a n00b, first time on this blog, but what's the deal? Is it coming out soon? Can I preorder? Canadians, foodblogging, and having S, N! vouch for you -- you're already going straight to the bookmark folder. But if I can get new recipes AND help MSF, you're my new best friend.

[KathyF]

Okay, friend. Here's the deal: Ginger at The Hackenblog and I are putting it together, with help from bloggers like Gavin at S,N!. It's in her hands now, and she expects to be finished with it in about a month. At which time it will be available through our websites, to download or order from Lulus.com a hardbound copy.

Meanwhile, I food blog every Wednesday. You know, just like your local paper.

Which should confirm their fears that bloggers are taking over journalists' jobs.

Keep reading! I love Sadly, No! too, but sadly, am not a regular commenter there.

[Imperatrix]

I wanted to mention that I woke up in the middle of the night, realizing that I mentioned sauteing mushrooms in butter on a vegan's site.

I am so sorry.

[KathyF]

No worries; I see "butter" and read extra virgin olive oil, or Smart Balance.

Bananafish are a fictitious species of fish created by J. D. Salinger (author of Catcher in the Rye) in his story "A Perfect Day for Bananafish." The fish swim into a hole and eat so many bananas that in their enlarged state they cannot escape. Eventually they contract banana fever and die.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bananafish

[Shaula Evans]

Kathy, you really need a (highly!) paid job somewhere captioning photos. :)