Wednesday, June 18, 2008

• Yummers...

  I normally don't put recipes up here but I've just fallen in love with this risotto I made last night. Highlighted in red are the modifications I made to the recipe (and it's great for people who don't eat meat!) Not quite fat free though - lots of dairy and fat but you only live once, right?

   

  Mushroom and Chestnut Risotto

  
  

  Risotto
  3.5 litres	good-quality chicken stock (see note)
  200 gm	peeled chestnuts (see note) I would suggest you use frozen chestnuts because I spent 1.5 hours peeling these nightmares!
  150 ml	extra-virgin olive oil
  320 gm	butter, coarsely chopped
  ½ small	onion, finely chopped
  1 clove	garlic, finely chopped
  750 gm	carnaroli rice can be bought at Fratelli Fresh for around $12 a packet, really recommend using carnaroli because it doesn't break up in cooking
  100 gm	finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano I used Caccio di Fossa instead and I think it made a real difference - it's more piccante than Parmigiano and has a real pungency and bite. Only problem is that it costs about $90 a kilo from good delis (and is a seasonal cheese)
  150 gm small	shiitake mushrooms, stems trimmed
  150 gm small	Swiss brown mushrooms, stems trimmed
  100 gm small	pine mushrooms or wood blewits when available, stems trimmed was told that wood blewits are an AMAZING mushroom but is rare and very seasonal. I used field mushrooms instead.
  150 gm	baby spinach leaves, stalks trimmed

  
  

  
  

  1	Place 1 litre of chicken stock in a saucepan and simmer over medium-high heat for 20 minutes or until reduced to 200ml. Heat remaining chicken stock in a separate saucepan over medium heat and keep warm.
  2	Preheat oven to 160C. Place prepared chestnuts in a roasting pan with 2 tbsp olive oil and 20gm butter and roast for 20 minutes or until tender and golden.
  3	Heat 50gm butter and 50ml olive oil in a large heavy-based saucepan, add onion and garlic and sauté for 3 minutes or until soft. Add rice, stir to coat, then add non-reduced chicken stock ½ cup at a time, stirring, adding more as liquid is absorbed and rice is tender (you may not need to use all the stock). Remove from heat, add 200gm butter, Parmigiano-Reggiano and season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir to combine.
  4	Meanwhile, heat 25gm butter and half the remaining olive oil in a large frying pan. Add half the mushrooms and cook for 4-5 minutes or until golden and tender. Add half the roasted chestnuts and half the reduced chicken stock and stir to combine. Spoon into a bowl and keep warm. Repeat with remaining butter, oil, mushrooms, chestnuts and reduced stock.
  5	Add mushrooms to risotto, reserving a few. Add spinach leaves and stir to combine. Serve risotto garnished with reserved mushrooms.

  
  

  Note Frozen chestnuts are available from The Essential Ingredient or visit www.cheznuts.com.au. Thaw before roasting. To prepare fresh chestnuts (400gm unpeeled), score top and bottom of each with a knife and place on a wire rack over an oven tray. Roast in a pre-heated 180C oven for 10-12 minutes or until skin splits, transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Stand for 10 minutes to steam, then peel, removing hard outer and thin inner shells. Cook as per recipe method. Good quality chicken stock is available from select butchers. Peter Gilmore makes his by placing roast chicken wings, carrot, onion, celery, thyme, a bay leaf and 1 tsp peppercorns in a heavy-based saucepan, covering with boiling water and simmering for 1-2 hours.

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