Recipes

Ingredients For Mushrooms

1 pack of Village Grocer Wild Mushroom Medley

2 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 tablespoon unoaked Chardonnay or other dry white wine

2 cloves Garlic, minced

3 tablespoon Butter

Sea Salt

Ingredients For Risotto

5 cups Chicken Stock (or Vegetable)

1.5 cups Bertozzi Arborio Rice

2 small Shallots, minced

1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano

3 + 2 tablespoon butter

¾ cup unoaked Chardonnay or other dry white wine

1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

2 springs Fresh Thyme

Fresh Italian Parsley, minced (optional)

Wash your mushrooms.

As a general rule, the less washing the better. While you definitely don’t want dirty mushrooms as these grow wild on the forest floor and can be host to dead leaves, dirt and bugs, you also don’t need them to be as sterile as an operating room. I usually will take a toothbrush or pastry brush and wipe away any obvious bits of dirt. I will not run these under a tap or soak them as mushrooms act like sponges and can bloat, guaranteeing you won’t have a crisp mushroom and will have a slimy mess. If you absolutely need to, clean them under a tap quick and let them dry out on paper towel.

Sauté mushrooms and shallot.

While a better, more organized cook can cook the mushrooms and risotto at the same time, I am a hopeless scatterbrain and do the mushrooms ahead. Once they are cleaned, I will cut the larger mushrooms into bite sized pieces.

Take your widest pan and sear mushrooms over high heat in oil. Cook for eight to ten minutes stirring every two minutes until mushrooms have released their juices and they begin to caramelize. Deglaze pan 2 tablespoon of white wine which the mushrooms will soak up. Add three tablespoon butter and your minced garlic, cook for one minute. Stir until mushrooms are coated. Season with sea salt. Set aside for the risotto but do not clean the pan.

Make your risotto.

A good risotto is very simple to make, just requires some patience that you will be rewarded for.

1. Warm broth over low heat in a small saucepan.
2. In the same pan as you cooked the mushrooms in, add three tablespoon butter to pan and heat over medium. Once melted, add shallot and cook for five minutes until they begin to caramelize. Add rice and stir for two minutes or so, until the rice starts to look translucent.
3. Add ¾ cup your wine and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly until liquid is absorbed. Add one cup of broth at a time and constantly stir until the broth is absorbed. The constant stirring ensures the rice will release its starch giving you the desired velvety consistency. Continue adding one cup at a time until you notice the rice starts to expand a touch and the rice is al dente.

Drop heat to low and add mushrooms, Parmigiano Reggiano and thyme for two minutes. Take off heat and squeeze with lemon and another tablespoon of butter, stirring to incorporate. Serve and garnish with black pepper and shaved Parmigiano Reggiano.