We went to a farmer’s market the other day and returned home with a paper bag full of amazing fresh chanterelles. My favorite mushrooms are in season again, yeehah! If I had a pogo-stick I would just hop around the block several times, so happy I am. (Good news for my neighbors – I don’t have one and ain’t planning to get any soon.)
I especially love chanterelles (as well as other wild mushrooms) in the late summer and early fall, before the rain starts, when they are dry and beautiful. When the rain comes, mushrooms, being natural sponges, absorb water and tend to acquire this nasty snail-like texture when being cooked. I have nothing against snails, really. I love them baked with herbed butter or in a sauce for pasta. But mushrooms are mushrooms and snails are snails and I don’t like my mushrooms taste and feel like snails and vice versa.
For the same reason, I don’t wash mushrooms (there are a couple of exceptions though). I only use a canister of compressed air to remove the soil and particles from between the gills and other parts and then wipe each mushroom over with a wet paper towel. Time consuming, but well worth it. Also, with a bit of practice, it takes almost no time.
In addition to chanterelles, we bought a bunch of nice young asparagus in a store on the way home. Chanterelles and mushrooms are best buddies and play well together in a variety of dishes. Yesterday, I chose risotto as their playground.
Many people think of risotto as a time-consuming restauranty sort of dish, not appropriate for a weekday dinner at home. Not true. A regular risotto takes no more than half an hour total including prep and actual cooking, and is not as technically difficult as it may seem. You just have to keep a close eye on it and stir often so that a risotto can develop its famous creamy mouthfeel.
For a risotto you will need a special kind of rice, Arborio and Carnaroli are the ones you can find here in Seattle. The grains of these rice types have highly starchy outer layer, which, when being simmered and stirred, becomes soft and create the famous risotto texture, while their interior stays slightly firm, or al dente.
You will need:
- 1 cup of Arborio rice, Carnaroli rice or other risotto rice*
- ½ cup dry white vermouth or white wine
- 4-5 cups chicken or vegetable stock, better homemade or the tastiest commercial one you can find
- 2 shallots, finely chopped, about ½ cup (can be replaced with onions)
- 1-2 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 6-10 asparagus spears, depending on their thickness, tough ends trimmed off, the stems cut on the bias into ½ - ⅔ inch long pieces
- About ½ lb chanterelles
- A chunk of Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- Canola or grapeseed oil for sautéing
*Don’t rinse rice because water will wash away the starch from the surface of the grains, which is crucial for risotto’s creamy texture.
Start with sautéing chanterelles. Blow them all around with compressed air, if needed, and wipe with a wet paper towel. Leave small mushrooms whole and coarsely chop larger ones. Heat about 2 Tbsp oil in a spacious (!) pan and add chanterelles. Sauté, tossing often, for about 3-4 minutes or until lightly golden and slightly shrunk. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside.
While mushrooms are cooking, prepare other ingredients. Heat up chicken stock and season it with salt and pepper to your taste.
In the same pan you cooked mushrooms, heat 2-3 Tbsp oil on a medium high heat. Add chopped shallots and sauté for several minutes until translucent and only starting to change color. Add garlic and cook for another minute or so.
Add rice and cook, stirring well, until each grain gets coated with the oil and you smell subtle nutty aroma.
Pour in vermouth or wine and cook, stirring, until it’s gone.
Add a ladle of stock and cook, stirring often, until the rice absorbs it all.
Add another ladle of the stock and keep on cooking, stirring, until this portion of the stock is absorbed as well. Proceed like this until almost all the stock is gone and the rice has become creamy outside, but stayed quite firm inside. It will take about 15-17 minutes.
Now add asparagus and the rest of the stock.
In about a minute or so, add the chanterelles and let them heat through. By now, the rice should be cooked and very creamy on the outside, but retain slight, but noticeable firmness in the center of the grains.
Remove the pan from the heat. Grate some Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano right over the pan (about ⅓- ½ cup) and stir well into the risotto.
Serve the risotto right away.
Ilya and I are absolute shameless carnivores and don’t feel satiated eating purely vegetarian dish. So while the risotto was simmering away, I quickly sautéed a bunch of scallops, seasoned only with salt and black pepper, placed them on top of risotto and lightly drizzled with lemon juice.
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