Chanterelle Risotto with Truffle Butter

Posted on 10/30/2013 by Laurie

If you are like me, you start planning your Thanksgiving menu a month in advance. Chanterelle Risotto with Truffle Butter is a dish that I like to prepare around the holidays, because it is deliciously rich and decadent. So I thought that I would post this recipe early to give you time to consider including it (or some variation) in your holiday planning. (In the U.S., Thanksgiving is one month from tomorrow – but no pressure!) Buon appetito!

Chanterelle Risotto with Truffle Butter

makes 6 first course servings

1 oz. dried Chanterelle mushrooms

hot water

1 1/2 T. extra virgin olive oil, divided

1 small yellow onion, diced

1 c. Arborio rice

2 oz. dry white wine or Scotch*

3 c. chicken or vegetable broth

crushed hot red pepper**

2 slices cooked duck bacon, chopped (omit for a vegetarian risotto)

1/3 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese (loose, not packed down)

2 – 3 T. truffle butter

1. Wipe or rinse any grit off the Chanterelles. Place mushrooms in a small bowl, cover with hot water and soak for about 20 minutes. Reserving the liquid, strain the mushrooms. Strain the reserved liquid into the chicken or vegetable broth. Chop mushrooms. Set aside.

2. Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1/2 T. of the olive oil, then swirl oil around pan. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently until tender and almost translucent. Remove onion from skillet. Add the remaining 1 T. olive oil and rice to skillet. Stirring frequently, cook until the rice is evenly coated with oil and starts to turn golden. Stir in the wine or Scotch. Allow the rice to cook until the liquid is almost entirely absorbed. Meanwhile, in a medium pan, heat broth until simmering. Cover and keep it at a simmer until you have finished cooking risotto.

3. Raise the temperature under the skillet to about medium-high. Add enough broth (about 1/2 c.) to cover bottom of skillet. The skillet should be hot enough to allow the broth to keep simmering. Stir occasionally. Continue the process of adding small amounts of broth and letting the rice absorb the broth. When rice is about half-cooked, stir in mushrooms and onions. Continue adding broth and cooking rice, until the rice is almost cooked and the broth is almost absorbed. (If you run out of broth, simmer a little water to finish recipe.)

4. Shortly before rice is done cooking, sprinkle lightly with hot pepper, then stir in duck bacon.*** Add a hunk of truffle butter to risotto. Stir vigorously to melt and to distribute evenly. Stir in freshly grated Parmesan cheese until melted. Taste. Adjust seasonings (salt, pepper, cheese) if necessary. Serve immediately.

Notes:

* Scotch is not traditionally used in making risottos, but the flavor blends well with the mushrooms and duck bacon and does not overwhelm the truffle butter. For a more traditional risotto, use white wine.

** How much pepper you should use depends on your pepper. I usually use crushed, dried Chenzo peppers from my garden, which are very hot, and I only use about 1/8 t. You want to use enough so that there is just a faint heat to the flavor of the dish. Err on the side of adding too little pepper. You can always add more when you adjust the seasonings.

*** When the risotto is finished, the rice grains should be just somewhat tender but still distinct in shape and texture – and definitely not mushy. Recipes often call for risotto to be al dente, but I find that sometimes people undercook the rice in an effort not to overcook it. The rice should be creamy not crunchy. Keep in mind that for a short while, the rice will continue cooking from the heat of the risotto. Achieving the proper degree of doneness might take a little practice. A finished risotto should be a bit loose and jiggly in consistency, but not runny or liquidy.

Pasta with Raw Tomato Sauce

Posted on 08/10/2012 by Laurie

This dish is probably my favorite way to enjoy fresh tomatoes in the summer. It is delicious and easy to make. The key is to have very ripe tomatoes.

Ingredients (measurements approximate)

2 servings of pasta

3 c. diced raw tomatoes at room temperature

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

8 fresh basil leaves, shredded, plus extras for garnish

1 T. fresh thyme leaves

sea salt, to taste

crushed red pepper flakes, optional

several dashes balsamic vinegar

1/2 c. fresh grated Parmesan cheese

While pasta is cooking, combine tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, basil, thyme, sea salt and red pepper flakes. When pasta is done, drain and divide between two bowls. Top with raw tomato sauce. Dress with balsamic vinegar. Top with Parmesan cheese, garnish with basil leaves, and serve right away.

Ahh … Risotto

Posted on 04/21/2012 by Laurie

Risotto is one of those dishes for which I think one really shouldn’t follow a recipe. Just practice a few times until you learn how to make it the way that you like it. Then you know how to make risotto right. If you try to follow a recipe, you’ll have too much or too little liquid, your rice will be overcooked or undercooked, and it will be too dry or too rich. So if you don’t already know how to make risotto, here’s what I recommend …

Start with:

Some olive oil

Some arborio rice

A little minced garlic and/or finely chopped white or yellow onion

A lot of vegetable or chicken stock, kept at a simmer

A little dry white wine

Some chopped veggies

Some chopped meat or fish, optional

Some fresh grated parmesan or parmiggiano reggiano cheese

Salt, preferably sea salt

Some fresh ground pepper

(1) Pour some olive oil into a large skillet … enough to almost cover the bottom in a thin layer. Preheat skillet over medium-high heat.

(2) Add some rice, enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Lightly cook the rice in the oil until it turns a pale golden color and almost translucent, shaking the pan occasionally.

(3) Add a little garlic and/or onion. Stir and quickly saute, then add a little of the vegetable or chicken stock … enough to cover the rice in a thin layer. Have a sip of wine.

(4) Simmer until the liquid is absorbed. Once it is absorbed, add a little more stock … again enough to cover the rice in a thin layer. Have another sip of wine … and so forth.

(4) Simmer until the liquid is absorbed. Add enough wine to cover the rice in a thin layer.

(5) Simmer until the wine is absorbed. Add a little more stock … again enough to cover the rice in a thin layer.

(6) Keep adding stock in small amounts, allowing it to completely absorb before the next addition, until the rice is almost cooked to desired consistency. The process up until this point takes about 30 or thirty-five minutes.

(7) Stir in veggies and/or meat or fish. (If the veggies/fish/meat is raw, add a little earlier than if it is already cooked.) Add a little more liquid. Simmer until absorbed.

(8) Continue until the rice has reached the desired consistency – soft, but not mushy – stir in a little butter and then parmesan cheese. The more butter and cheese, the creamier but less healthful the risotto. Salt and pepper to taste. How much to add is a matter of personal taste.

(9) Garnish as desired. Serve with tossed green salad and Italian bread.

For the risotto that I made tonight, I used garlic, white bulb onions, and yellow bell peppers. Just before it was finished, I divided it into two pans. To the half that was to become my husband’s dinner, I added sliced chicken-pineapple-bacon sausage that I had cooked up while the rice was simmering. To my half, I added left over Scottish salmon from dinner last night. Once you know the basic technique of making risotto, anything is an option! Be creative and enjoy! Let me know if you have any questions … I’ll do my best to answer them.