So I had dinner ALL PLANNED… pre made, IN FACT… Meat and Potato Pie…
When all of a sudden, Louis–my 13 year old–decides to ask his best friend Rishi to dinner and a sleepover Friday night…
Ordinarily that would be no problem at all… EXCEPT… he’s a VEGETARIAN…
Meat and Potato Pie wasn’t going to FLY 😝
Quick RE-think and rummage round the fridge!!
Mushroom Risotto 👍
I had some delicious homemade Stock left… a cup of my NEW FAVORITE CALROSE RICE… and some ‘Shrooms…
I nipped out and bought a few more exotic ‘Shrooms… and I was well on my way to a vegetarian supper we would ALL ENJOY 😃
Get your Mushrooms out of their plastic boxes the minute you get home…
And store them in the brown paper bag that your last bottle of Vodka came home in!!!
They will keep SO MUCH LONGER IN THE FRIDGE that way… won’t go all slimy if forgotten about for a few days!!
I brought back these wonderful Porcini Stock Cubes from a trip recently… they are FANTASTIC!!
Heat up the 4 cups of leftover veggie Stock…
And throw in a couple of the Stock Cubes to make the veggie Stock more ‘shroom-y…
Make up the rest of the needed 7 cups with hot filtered Water…
Heat the pan up to a boil… and then turn down to a very slight simmer!!
You don’t want your precious liquid evaporating BEFORE we get the chance to use it!!
Pour a cup of boiling Water on a pack of dried Porcini… and let soak for 20 minutes…
Then start on the rest of the ingredients…
Dice a 2 pack of Shallots…
Proceed with the wonderful Mushrooms…
De-stalk the Shitakkes…
Get rid of the tougher ends of the Oysters…
And chop fairly small the rest of the Portobellos and Baby Bellas…
Now melt 2 tablespoons of good, unsalted European Butter…
And pour a couple of glugs of Mushroom and Sage Olive Oil on top of the Butter to stop it from burning…
This Oil was on hand… and it is a wonderful fit… but regular Oil would be just fine!!
I’m sometimes impatient and get my Shallots going before the Butter has a chance to melt 😝
But once the Shallots are translucent… I add 2 cups of Rice!!
Arborio or Calrose is a good choice!!
Coat the rice nicely in the Butter and Oil… this is an important step…
Then add 1/3 of a cup of Vermouth…
Let that bubble away… evaporate…
Once you start to see the bottom of the pan is dry… it’s time to start adding your Stock…
Set your timer to 22 minutes… and add two ladles of Stock to START…
Chuck in some finely chopped Parsley Stalks…
Keep gently stirring… CONSTANTLY…
Then again, when you see the bottom of your heavy duty All-Clad Sautée Pan… add another cup of Stock…
After about 4 cups of Stock… and half your chopped Mushrooms…
Once all incorporated… add another cup of Stock… and dispatch the rest of your Mushrooms…
Time to drain…
Reserve the dried Porcini liquor!!
Add the Porcini…
Strain the liquor…
Add the liquor…
This will give another layer of FABULOUS depth to your finished dish…
Start to season… all the while, storing and adding Stock, as you need it…
Then add 1/3 of a cup of heavy Whipping Cream…
By now, your time is almost up… the 22 minutes…
You have used most–if not all–of your 7 cups of Stock… remember you have the cup of Porcini liquor, as well… which MUST go in…
Once it’s all to a consistency you like… personally I like it creamy and not too dry… and you have TRIED a grain of rice to make sure it’s not chalky…
Take the pan OFF THE HEAT… and stir in a pat of Butter… and a couple of small handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan Cheese…
OMG… a dish to warm the cockles of your heart!!!
Vegetarians ASIDE… we carnivores DEVOURED our supper and NEVER MISSED THE MEAT 😋
