Manja Manja Mushroom Risotto
By Julie Cader
The epitome of Italian cooking, nothing warms the soul better than creamy risotto, especially during the cold winter months. Rather than use the traditional Arborio rice, this recipe uses Calrose rice from California Family Foods, and a local California wine, a Marsanne Roussanne white wine from Helwig Winery.
Ingredients
Stock
6-7 cups vegetable stock
1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
Wine
1 cup Helwig’s Marsanne Roussanne white wine
¼ teaspoon saffron, crushed
Risotto
2 cups California Family Foods Calrose Rice
1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
4 tablespoons butter
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
Mushroom Medley
2 lb. of assorted mushrooms (oyster, portabella, crimini, shitake) cut into bit-sized pieces
1/3 cup lemon-infused extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon roughly chopped thyme
10-12 cloves garlic, peeled
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Finishing Touches
8 oz. crème fraiche
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Heat oven to 450 degrees.
Simmer stock and dried porcini mushrooms in 2-qt. saucepan for 5-10 minutes. Remove mushrooms from stock and set aside to cool and chop, reserving the stock. Keep stock warm.
Steep saffron in wine for 10 minutes.
Heat butter over medium heat, add onion and minced garlic and cook until translucent, about 6-8 minutes. Add Calrose rice and cook until lightly toasted, about 4 minutes. Slowly add ½ cup of stock to rice mixture, stirring constantly while cooking. After a few minutes, add wine and saffron mixture. Continue stirring in stock, ½ cup at a time, and cooking until liquid is absorbed before adding more. This should take around 20 minutes. When risotto is creamy and the grain is still firm, stir in reserved chopped porcini mushrooms.
Heat butter over medium heat, add onion and minced garlic and cook until translucent, about 6-8 minutes. Add Calrose rice and cook until lightly toasted, about 4 minutes. Slowly add ½ cup of stock to rice mixture, stirring constantly while cooking. After a few minutes, add wine and saffron mixture. Continue stirring in stock, ½ cup at a time, and cooking until liquid is absorbed before adding more. This should take around 20 minutes. When risotto is creamy and the grain is still firm, stir in reserved chopped porcini mushrooms.
Meanwhile, toss the fresh mushrooms in olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper. Place on baking sheet. Add 10-12 garlic cloves to one corner of the baking sheet. Roast for 10-12 minutes. When done, use garlic press to mash garlic cloves into risotto. Stir in half of the baked mushrooms, crème fraiche and Parmesan cheese into risotto.
Plate risotto, adding remaining baked mushrooms to top of risotto. Serve immediately.
Julie is Finance & Administration Manager for the California Rice Commission, and a big proponent of trying new recipes- especially if they feature California rice.
