The program at FareStart is substance free meaning no alcohol in our preparations. If you prefer, substitute ½ cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc for the lemon juice.
Pacific Northwest Mushroom Risotto
Ingredients
- 1 pound chanterelle and oyster mushrooms or a mix of other mushrooms
- 6 to 7 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
- 1½ cups arborio rice
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- ¼ cup Browned Butter, see below
- 3 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
Method
- Clean the mushrooms, if necessary, and tear or slice them into large pieces. When using a mix of mushrooms, it is important that they be like-sized when cooked together. Small wild mushrooms should be left whole, while mushrooms like chanterelles, oyster, or maitake can just be pulled to separate into smaller pieces.
- Bring the stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan with a large ladle nearby. Taste to be sure the stock is well seasoned, adding salt and pepper as needed.
- Melt the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the shallot, cooking gently until just beginning to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook gently until they begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Top with the rice, stirring to lightly toast, about 1 minute. Pour in the lemon juice to deglaze the pan, scraping any browned bits from the bottom. Once the lemon juice has almost all cooked off, add one ladleful of the stock and cook, stirring. The stock should simmer and bubble slowly. Continue to cook, stirring often, until the stock has absorbed. Add another ladleful of stock and continue cooking, stirring and maintaining a gentle simmer, adjusting the heat if needed, stirring often and adding more stock only once the rice is almost dry. Continue adding stock and stirring until the rice is tender, but still al dente, 10 to 15 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Stir in the Parmigiano Reggiano, and remove from heat.
- Divide the risotto among warm plates, making sure to evenly divide the mushrooms. Drizzle the browned butter over the top. Sprinkle with the parsley and grate a little more cheese over the top. Voila!
Brown Butter
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
Method
- Melt the butter in a small skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat, keeping a watchful eye as it browns. Once it is a rich golden brown, immediately remove from the heat. Gently pour into a small container, leaving the butter solids in the pan.
FareStart is a longtime friend of the Jacques Pépin Foundation and we were lucky to host Jacques in our restaurant when we were getting started. When it came time for me to present a recipe here, I decided on risotto because it was one of the first dishes I ever made. In my house the chores were, either cook or clean. I chose to cook! Learning and drawing inspiration from television chefs, Jacques Pépin, Martin Yan and Julia Child. Even now the smell of risotto brings me back to that time of cooking and learning from Jacques on PBS.