Talking about autumn in the kitchen means bringing out some star ingredients such as pumpkin, artichokes or chestnuts, vegetables such as chard or spinach, and fruits such as pomegranate or persimmon. But above all, with the arrival of autumn the mushroom season begins.
Basket and knife in hand, it is time for many mushroom lovers to go out to rural roads, mountains and forests to collect some specimens to later delight their palates. Always be very careful not to add any variety that is not edible to the pile. If you live in an area of Spain where mushrooms do not grow, you can always go to the nearest market to get a good handful of chanterelles, boletus, oyster mushrooms, senderuelas or chanterelles.
If you like mushrooms, you have surely prepared them in a thousand and one ways. From the simplest ones, grilled with spices or aromatic herbs to taste, in stews with meat, legumes or some vegetable protein – we recommend making them with tofu or seitan tacos -, in pâtés and as an accompaniment to pastas or rice dishes. Very delicious rice with mushrooms and cauliflower.
But if there is a way to prepare mushrooms in which they take on their well-deserved prominence, it is in risottos, a typical dish from northern Italy. Nothing to do with our dry, soupy or creamy rice, the Italian preparation is characterized by a consistent and creamy texture.
For its preparation, we have to use a special rice, with a high starch content. It is arborio rice. And although the traditional Italian mushroom risotto is cooked with funghi porcini mushrooms, it will be just as spectacular with any other mushrooms of your choice. In case you didn’t know, to make a risotto – unlike what we do with our rice recipes – we will have to add the broth little by little. We tell you how to make a traditional Italian risotto in steps.
Dipper by dipper
The first thing you have to know is that risotto is a dish that takes time and requires us to be aware of it. It is not a preparation that we can leave to its own devices while we solve other tasks. Of course, we assure you that the result is worth it. It is a recipe that is cooked over low heat, which we will have to stir from time to time – preferably with a wooden spoon – and in which we will have to add the broth little by little, saucepan by saucepan.
To make this recipe – we give you the necessary ingredients for between four and five diners – we are going to need 400 grams of carnaroli or arborio rice – if you can’t find it, you can opt for some other round grain variety -, a liter of chicken broth or vegetables, approximately 300 grams of mushrooms of your choice, one onion and two cloves of garlic, a glass of white wine, 70 grams of butter and 75 grams of parmesan, liquid cream (optional) and salt and pepper to taste.
Mushrooms, in the pan
The first thing we have to do is cook our mushrooms. In case you have obtained the dehydrated porcini mushrooms, we are going to hydrate them in hot water for at least 20 minutes until we see that they have gained consistency. We are going to cook them with a pinch of butter in a pan with the chopped onion and garlic. The mushrooms, in small pieces too.
A trick: if you have hydrated the mushrooms – if you use cold water you will need an hour – do not throw away that water, because contact with the mushrooms gives it an intense mushroom flavor and you can use that broth for your risotto.
Once they are done and have released all the water, we add the rice. We stir and add the glass of white wine and a saucepan of chicken or vegetable broth (always hot). We will continue stirring little by little with our wooden spoon. We will repeat the operation as many times as necessary. The process usually takes about 25 or 30 minutes. We have to prevent the rice from drying out. Its texture has to be creamy.
When the rice is ready – taste it until it’s done – it’s time to add the grated parmesan and butter. Now, stir everything very well so that all the ingredients and flavors are integrated. If you wish, you can also add some liquid cream to give the recipe greater creaminess. It can be useful, especially if you have not found the variety of arborio or carnaroli rice, which thanks to the starch it contains gives the ideal texture to the risotto.
Mushroom risotto with black truffle
If you have already tried mushroom risotto, we are going to give you another option so you can try new dishes. A winning combination is mushrooms with black truffle. To make this recipe, you will need, in addition to the previous ingredients, between 20 and 30 grams of fresh black truffle and truffle oil.
The preparation has no mystery but the intensity of the flavor will surely not leave you indifferent. When you are going to add the last ladle of vegetable or chicken broth to your risotto, grate a little of the truffle over it. We will laminate the rest with a mandoline and reserve it until the end. We will add the sheets to the risotto dishes when we are going to serve them. We can drizzle the preparation with a little truffle oil.
This type of risotto also combines perfectly with garden and sea ingredients, very typical in the Italian region of Veneto. Another recipe that is delicious is mushroom risotto with shrimp and arugula. It is cooked the same as the previous ones, but adding the shrimp at the end along with the fresh arugula.
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