(Smoked) mushroom risotto

Today was New Brighton Farmers Market day which meant we had a little container of smoked mushrooms from Wollumbin Gourmet Mushroom. Time for some mushroom risotto we reckoned. Of course you don't need these special mushrooms to make this recipe, but if you are lucky enough to be able to jag some, then they will add a stack of flavour to this simple but layered risotto. Thanks Gav & Jules for the tip to try these mushrooms when we were here last year.

As is becoming our custom, we wandered out along the breakwall before dinner and were treated to a gorgeous sunset. We had been awake early this morning and decided to get to the beach to see the sunrise, but were foiled by the clouds - all was forgiven. It was nice walking back to the van, starting to think about this dish and anticipating the smells and tastes. 

Servings

2

Time

Time to chop and prepare ingredients, then ~ ½ hour cooking time.

Equipment (main)

• Deep pan
• Large saucepan (for stock)
• Chopping boards and knife
• Spatula and wooden spoon (I find I use two stirrers with risotto because the rice tends to stick to the spoon.)

Ingredients

• olive oil
• 1x onion, diced (I used 2x small ones tonight)
• 4x garlic cloves, finely chopped
• ¾ cup arborio rice
• cup of cheap wine wine
• chicken stock, ~700ml (2 x cubes)
• 100g of Mollumbin smoked mushrooms (or other tasty mushrooms)
• 3x large flat Swiss brown mushrooms, chopped in largish chunks
• good bunch of kale, de-stalked and chopped
• parmesan, small pile grated (for a bit of punch)
• butter, 2 x knobs (for creaminess)
• (no salt or pepper for me for this recipe so as not to interfere with the deep of the mushroom flavour)

Method

Cooking risotto requires continual attention, so I prepare all the ingredients beforehand. Once everything has been gathered and chopped ...

1. Bring the stock to the boil while you are chopping onions, garlic, mushrooms and kale. Turn the heat off once it boils.
2. In good glug of oil, sauté the onion until soft
3. Add the rice and cook for a few minutes, until the rice starts to become translucent
4. Add the garlic and stir for a minute of so to release the flavour
5. Add the wine and and stir continually until the liquid is almost gone. Moderate the heat so that it keeps simmering but not boiling too hard.
6. Add the Swiss brown mushrooms and stir until coated, then pour in stock until mostly covered.
7. Add the smoked mushies and the kale, stir continually and keep adding stock until the rice is cooked. 
8. Turn the heat off and mix through the parmesan and butter
9. Spoon into bowls and enjoy