Skip to main content

Mushroom Risotto with Lemon and Mint


When I was trying to decide what to put underneath my marinated grilled octopus, I thought: risotto! Normally risotto is my "use-whatever-you-have" kinda dinner, but I asked my boys what they thought. Jake said mushrooms, D suggested lemon, and R wanted mint. Sounded good. So, I made a mushroom-lemon-mint risotto.

Ingredients makes 8 servings
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 T butter
  • splash of olive oil
  • 3 C sliced fresh mushrooms (I used a medley of mushrooms from Far West Fungi that included canary oysters, "regular" oysters, and shitakes)
  • 2 C arborio rice
  • 2 C farro*
  • 6 C stock
  • 2 C boiling water
  • 8 oz marscarpone cream
  • juice and zest from 1 lemon
  • marinated grilled octopus (recipe to come)
  • fleur de sel
  • freshly ground pepper
  • 1/2 C fresh herbs (I used mint and parsley)
*I didn't have enough arborio rice on hand, so I supplemented with farro, an ancient variety of wheat. This is flexible. You can make it with any kind rice or even barley!

Procedure
Bring your stock and water to a boil. Then reduce it to a simmer and keep it on a burner adjacent to your risotto pan.

Melt 2 T butter with a splash of olive oil in a large, flat-bottom,  pan. Add the garlic and cook until it begins to caramelize. Add mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms soften. Add in the rice and farro and stir until completely coated with oil and butter.

Add one ladle of simmering broth at a time, stirring, stirring, and stirring some more till the liquid is absorbed. Repeat until the rice is soft. If you need more liquid, just add more; if you don't use all of the stock, that's okay, too.

Let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and lemon zest. Season with fleur de sel and pepper to taste. Stir in marscarpone cheese and fresh herbs. To serve, spoon out individual servings, lay a marinated grilled baby octopus atop your risotto. Serve immediately.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Quick Pickled Red Onions and Radishes

If you've been reading my blog for even a short amount of time, you probably know how much I love to pickle things. I was just telling a friend you can pickle - with vinegar - or you can ferment - with salt - for similar delicious effect. The latter has digestive benefits and I love to do that, but when I need that pop of sour flavor quickly, I whip up quick pickles that are ready in as little as a day or two. I've Pickled Blueberries , Pickled Asparagus , Pickled Cranberries , Pickled Pumpkin , and even Pickled Chard Stems ! This I did last night for an upcoming recipe challenge that requires I include radishes. Ummmm...of course I'm pickling them! Ingredients  makes 1 quart jar radishes, trimmed and sliced organic red onions, peeled and thinly sliced (I used a mandolin slicer) 3/4 C vinegar (I used white distilled vinegar) 3/4 C water 3 T organic granulated sugar 1 T salt (I used some grey sea salt) 6 to 8 grinds of black pepper Proce

Aloo Tiki {Pakistan}

To start off our Pakistani culinary adventure, I started us off with aloo tiki - potato cutlets. I'm always game for tasty street food. I found a couple of different recipes and incorporated those together for this version. Ingredients 6-8 small red potatoes, scrubbed 1 T cumin seeds 1 T fresh chopped parsley 1/2 t ground coriander 1 t minced garlic Procedure Boil the potatoes until they are tender. Drain and let cool. Mash the potatoes. Traditionally they are mashed without their skins. I left the skins on. In a small pan, toast the cumin seeds on high heat until the begin to give off an aroma and begin to darken. Remove from heat and transfer to a plate to keep them from cooking any more. Blend all of the spices into the mashed potatoes, then shape into small patties. If you wet your hands, the potato mixture won't stick to them. Heat a splash of oil in a large, flat-bottom pan. Dip each patty into beaten egg and carefully place in the oil. P

Hot Chocolate Agasajo-Style {Spice It Up!}

photo by D For my Spice It Up! kiddos this week, I was looking for an exotic drink to serve while we learned about saffron. I found a recipe from food historian Maricel Presilla that mimicked traditional Spanish hot chocolate from the 17th century where it was served at lavish receptions called agasajos . When I teach, I don't always get to shoot photos. Thankfully, D grabbed my camera and snapped a few. Ingredients serves 14-16 1 gallon organic whole milk 3 T dried rosebuds - or 2 t rosewater 2 t saffron threads, lightly crushed 3 T ground cinnamon 3 whole tepin chiles, crushed 2 vanilla beans, split lengthwise 1 C organic granulated sugar 1 lb. bittersweet chocolate Procedure In a large soup pot that can hold a gallon plus, combine milk, dried rosebuds (or rosewater, if you are using that), saffron threads, ground cinnamon, chiles, vanilla beans, and sugar and warm over medium heat till it steams. Whisk to dissolve sugar, then lower heat an