MAMA, don’t tempt me with risotto!
Well, in this house, fungi are favorites! Mama makes a mushroom risotto that at least I get to sniff, No sweet onions, no white wine, no chicken broth (made with onions) or fungi for me.
DARN.
BUT…sometimes a sniff is as good as a savor, right?
Wrong, no way, but what the heck.
Just start with a few spoons of olive oil in a sturdy casserole, about 8-10 fungi (those white ones often called Champignons de Paris), 1 sweet onion, and 2 cloves of garlic, all chopped fine. Heat the oil in the casserole, sauté the onion, mushrooms and garlic for a couple of minutes until wilted, then add a generous cup of round rice. (Arborio is the Italian rice, but you can use paella rice, too, whatever that is), and sauté the rice a few minutes until it takes on color.
Stir in a nice cup of white wine and let that evaporate as you stir.
Then begin stirring in the warmed chicken or vegetable broth by cupfuls, letting each one evaporate into the rice. You will use about 4-5 cups of broth for a generous cup of rice.
When the rice is tender, usually about 15-20 minutes, turn off the fire and stir in a spoon of butter or a dash of cream or, for fewer calories, a spoon or two of plain yogurt. The rice should be creamy, not dry.
Mama uses whatever is around each time so I can’t pin her down today, haha.
Serve with grated parmesan.
Mama’s trick with risotto, if you can’t make it all at once, is to cook it halfway with half the broth, then put a loose lid on it until you are ready to finish it off. When you start to stir in broth again, the rice will be a bit more cooked, thus saving time.
It always comes out the same, with a nice texture and very creamy but not gummy. If your risotto is not creamy enough, add a bit more broth as you do NOT want a dry risotto.
This same risotto recipe may be done without fungi but with saffron, powdered or threads, and it is then a risotto alla milanese.
Or you can purée tomatoes and fresh basil and make a red risotto – so many risotti to choose from.
And there I am, drooling, having my same old, same old. Ah, well, let’s hear it for smell…
Hey, I said same old same old, right? So where is it?
Heya i’m for the first time here. I came across this board and I find It really useful & it helped me out a lot.
I hope to give something back and help others like you aided me.
Well, we love animal videos if they are kind and not mean, as some are.
My mom pulled a large mushroom out of the grass yesterday, but unlike yours, I don’t think it’s the kind she’d want to cook and eat. Tee hee hee.
NO, NO, NO — grass mushrooms are only to keep little fairies and goblins dry, the ones who dance about on the lawn when you are asleep. Mama went to look for “fairy rings” in the grass on some mornings after the fairies had danced.
Sounds tasty but Dad would make it without Garlick
Oh, just a tad of that rose or violet garlic mama uses and he would not even feel it…
Now we’re drooling, Loulou! That looks yummy.
YUMMMMMM!!!!! My Mom and Dad both love mushroom risotto – thanks for reminding them!
Hugs, Teddy
You are tastily welcome.
Now my mouth is watering! I love making risotto and it is such a versatile dish!
Now I need to go have supper!!
We love it, too. And you can make suppli out of the leftover rice. Will mention how in a blog or go online to find them. Crispy and 😋!
We are doomed as cats and dogs from GOOD FOOD!! BUT mama and papa have started giving me doggie paté with my kibbles, so I’m happy! Papa fries mushrooms from time to time – and yesterday had them with the leftover plum chicken and black rice. I didn’t get any…….
Same old story, Mya…no goodies for us lowly creatures.
LouLou – I left a comment earlier about using dogs and pigs to locate truffles and wondering if there were any openings for truffle cats. But it disappeared, so I don’t know if it got erase or will show up later. Just testing.
BIG GOOD TASTY IDEA And we got both comments thank you.
We love mushrooms. That looks amazing. Has your mama ever had chicken of the woods mushroom? My hubby found some a few weeks ago and I was amazed that they look and taste like chicken when cooked.
Oh, our neighbor brings us cepes and chanterelle and field fungi but not those yet. Mama will ask him if he ever finds them. I’m assuming your hubby is a mycologist.
No, he just went out in the woods with a friend who knew what to look for.
Well, our wonderful mushroom finder neighbor has been picking mushrooms for about 60 years, but sometimes mama gets a little nervous all the same. Not with the field mushrooms because they grow on a log in his garden. BUT…we do love his mushrooms, and we have had only one friend of 90 who gathered all is life and then made one mistake. He survived but it was not good. I’m only telling you this because I’d love to know the mushrooms your friend finds in your part of the woods. And I’m sure he is an expert or he wouldn’t offer his wares. There was a professional mycologist in mama’s past neighborhood who told mama what she had found were no good and then took them home himself because they were very rare, haha. The pharmacists here are consultants, too, but our neighbor is the best. We want to taste chicken of the woods.
I’ll bet that does smell yummy Loulou! We don’t like human food here but we do like how it smells!
Yes, a sniff is all I really care about.