Risotto ai funghi
History:
Mushrooms have always held sway over my imagination. They seemingly sprout from nowhere, dotted on the ground, like earth's very own culinary presents. Mushrooms are also shrouded by many tales of elves and fairies - why, even Tolkien's hobbits love mushrooms. They taste of the earth itself, and are hopelessly easy to prepare. Best of all, they store well and come in a variety of shapes and textures. I love using mushrooms in dishes, but so far the most luxurious of all is this risotto which really condenses and celebrates the taste of the humble mushroom.
This recipe calls for porcini, which tastes as mushroomy as you could imagine, but unfortunately fresh porcini is almost impossible to get locally. If you're lucky enough you might chance upon sliced and dried porcini. If you do, reconstitute them by soaking in lukewarm water for 30 mins then coarsely chop them up - and remember to save the water ("liquor") for later. If not, I discovered this gem of a bottle - powdered porcini. This stuff is moste potente, so a little goes a long way! I've also improvised by adding Shimeji mushrooms, which apart from providing a beautiful rubbery texture (which is why I added them last), can be used whole to give the dish a mushroomy look.
Ingredients: (serves 6-7)
Arborio rice $8 (Greengrocer.com.sg; I used 1/3 of the packet so it should cost about $3)
Fresh shitake mushrooms $1 (Cold Storage)
5-6 large white button mushrooms $2 (Cold Storage)
Half a packet of shimeji mushrooms $3 (Cold Storage) or $2 (wet market)
Porcini powder $30 for a bottle that should last forever (Greengrocer)
1 litre chicken broth $3
100g Parmesan cheese $6
Total = $47 for the first batch ($8 per person) or $17 for subsequent batches due to the porcini powder ($3 per person!)
History:
Mushrooms have always held sway over my imagination. They seemingly sprout from nowhere, dotted on the ground, like earth's very own culinary presents. Mushrooms are also shrouded by many tales of elves and fairies - why, even Tolkien's hobbits love mushrooms. They taste of the earth itself, and are hopelessly easy to prepare. Best of all, they store well and come in a variety of shapes and textures. I love using mushrooms in dishes, but so far the most luxurious of all is this risotto which really condenses and celebrates the taste of the humble mushroom.
This recipe calls for porcini, which tastes as mushroomy as you could imagine, but unfortunately fresh porcini is almost impossible to get locally. If you're lucky enough you might chance upon sliced and dried porcini. If you do, reconstitute them by soaking in lukewarm water for 30 mins then coarsely chop them up - and remember to save the water ("liquor") for later. If not, I discovered this gem of a bottle - powdered porcini. This stuff is moste potente, so a little goes a long way! I've also improvised by adding Shimeji mushrooms, which apart from providing a beautiful rubbery texture (which is why I added them last), can be used whole to give the dish a mushroomy look.
Ingredients: (serves 6-7)
- Arborio rice -4 cups
- 1 large onion, sliced or diced
- 5 large fresh shitake mushrooms, sliced
- 5-6 large white button mushrooms, sliced
- Half a packet of shimeji mushrooms, with 1cm of the the bottom stalk removed
- 5-6 fresh porcini mushrooms (no luck getting these in Singapore) or 1.5 tablespoons porcini powder
- 1 litre chicken broth
- 10 tablespoons cold salted butter
- 100g Parmesan cheese
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pot, and add onions. Cook until soft and slightly brown. Turn to high heat.
- Add shitake and button mushrooms (or fresh porcini if you have them), cook until tender
- Add arborio rice and stir around a bit, letting it soak up some of the mushroom juice.
- If using porcini powder, dissolve 1.5 tablespoons of it in 250ml hot water and let soak for a while.
- To the rice, add about 1/4 of the chicken stock, and stir frequently to prevent the rice from sticking and also to release the starch in the rice. Add in more stock whenever the rice looks like drying out, and finally add the porcini-powder infusion. During the cooking process, the rice will turn from an opaque white to translucent, about 20 mins. Risotto should be cooked to al dente, where the released starch causes it to turn into a creamy slurry but you should still be able to bite on individual rice grains.
- The next stage is the mentecatura. Turn off the heat, and mix in the shimeji mushrooms. Next, stir in the cold butter and parmesan cheese.
- Let the risotto stand for just a bit to cool down, and it's ready to serve.
Arborio rice $8 (Greengrocer.com.sg; I used 1/3 of the packet so it should cost about $3)
Fresh shitake mushrooms $1 (Cold Storage)
5-6 large white button mushrooms $2 (Cold Storage)
Half a packet of shimeji mushrooms $3 (Cold Storage) or $2 (wet market)
Porcini powder $30 for a bottle that should last forever (Greengrocer)
1 litre chicken broth $3
100g Parmesan cheese $6
Total = $47 for the first batch ($8 per person) or $17 for subsequent batches due to the porcini powder ($3 per person!)
