Wild Mushroom Risotto Balls Food

WILD MUSHROOM RISOTTO

Steps:

• Place dried porcinis and stock or broth in a saucepan and bring stock to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer.
• In a large skillet, heat oil and butter over medium to medium high heat. Add shallots and saute 2 minutes. Add arborio rice and saute, 2 or 3 minutes more. Add Sherry and cook the liquid completely absorbed. Add several ladles of hot stock or broth and reduce heat slightly. Simmer, stirring frequently until liquid is absorbed.
• Remove mushrooms from water and reserve cooking liquid. Coarsely chop the porcinis and add them to the rice. Continue to ladle broth into arborio, half the remaining amount at a time. Stir mixture each time you add broth and remove from heat when the rice is cooked to al dente. Cool and store any remaining liquids if there are any.
• The ideal total cooking time for perfect risotto is 22 minutes. The consistency should be creamy.
• Stir in thyme and a few handfuls of grated cheese. Season your risotto with salt and pepper to your taste. Serve creamy mushroom risotto from the hot pan with warm, crusty whole grain breads.

WILD MUSHROOM RISOTTO BALLS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, soak porcini in warm water until soft, about 20 minutes. Remove, squeeze gently, and chop coarsely. Set water and mushrooms aside.
• In a medium saucepan over low heat, saute garlic and shallot in 1 tablespoon olive oil until translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn heat up to medium and add white mushrooms. Cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add half the porcini.
• In another saucepan, bring stock to a low simmer and keep it there.
• Add rice and remaining olive oil to mushroom mixture and stir until all grains are well coated. Pour in wine, stirring constantly. Cook until rice absorbs most of the wine. Repeat with mushroom liquid.
• Add 1 cup stock, stirring frequently to avoid sticking. Cook until most of the stock is absorbed. Repeat with as much of remaining stock as needed, adding cup by cup. Start testing for doneness after third or fourth cup; rice should be al dente, with a creamy consistency but a little drier than a regular risotto so the balls hold together. The process should take 20 to 30 minutes. Stir in remaining porcini.
• Season with salt and pepper, and stir in butter and Parmesan. Spread in a baking pan to cool. Cover and refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour.
• Cut Fontina into tiny cubes, smaller than 1/4 inch. With moist hands (keep a bowl of warm water close by), press a cube of cheese into center of about 1 tablespoon of rice. Enclose cheese in rice and roll with both hands until ball becomes compact and round. The risotto balls can be made 1 or 2 days ahead up to this point; refrigerate, covered.
• On the day of the party, dredge risotto balls in flour. Deep-fry in vegetable oil at 375 degrees until crisp and brown on the outside. Serve immediately, or keep at room temperature and reheat in a 375-degree oven until hot. Roll in chopped fresh parsley if desired.

WILD MUSHROOM RISOTTO

Steps:

• In a medium-size heavy saucepan, heat the peanut oil. Over medium-high heat, saute the onion and garlic just to soften, stirring all the while, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the rice and continue to stir, using a wooden spoon, coating the rice with the oil and onion.
• Deglaze with the white wine and cook until the liquid is absorbed, stirring often. Pour in enough mushroom and/or chicken stock to cover, about 3 cups, and cook, stirring often, until the liquid is absorbed.
• Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, heat the olive oil. If the mushrooms are large, cut them into bite-size pieces and saute over medium-high heat just to soften, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Pour 3 cups of stock into the rice, turn the flame to high, and stir in a large pinch of salt and the tomatoes. Stir until almost al dente. Stir in the mushrooms and the remaining 1-cup of stock, as necessary. Remember that the risotto should be creamy, not runny. Remove from the flame and vigorously beat in the chilled butter and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan until completely dissolved. Stir in the parsley, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

WILD MUSHROOM RISOTTO

Steps:

• Coat a large saute pan generously with olive oil and add the smashed garlic cloves. Bring to a medium-high heat. When the garlic cloves have begun to brown and are very aromatic remove and discard them. Add the assorted fresh mushrooms to the pan and season with salt. Saute the mushrooms until they are soft and pliable. Turn off the heat and reserve.
• Using your hand, carefully scoop the porcini mushrooms out of the hot water. (At this point the water should have cooled off significantly. If it is still too hot for your hand, use a slotted spoon.) Pour the top 2/3 of the mushroom water into another container and reserve for use while making the risotto. Discard the bottom third. It contains a lot of sand and dirt from the mushrooms. Puree the rehydrated mushrooms with a little of the reserved mushroom water to make a smooth mushroom paste. This will not look good but it will certainly taste good! Reserve.
• Coat a large saucepot abundantly with olive oil. Add the onions and season generously with salt. Bring the pot to a medium-high heat. Cook the onions, stirring frequently until they are very soft and aromatic but have no color. Add the rice and stir to coat with the olive oil. Cook the rice for 2 to 3 minutes to toast, stirring frequently. Add wine to cover the surface of the rice and stir frequently until it has completely absorbed. Add the reserved mushroom water and then add chicken stock until the liquid has covered the surface of the rice. Stir frequently until the stock has absorbed into the rice. Repeat this process 2 more times. Check for seasoning, you probably will need to add salt.
• During the third addition of stock, add the reserved sauteed mushrooms and 2 tablespoons of the pureed porcini mushrooms. When the stock has absorbed into the rice and the rice is cooked but still "al dente", remove the pot from the heat. Add the butter and cheese and whip until well combined. This will set the perfect consistency of the rice. The rice should flow and not be able to hold its shape and look very creamy. Serve immediately garnished with chives.

WILD MUSHROOM RISOTTO

Steps:

• Place the dried morels in a bowl and pour 2 cups boiling water over them. Set aside for 30 minutes. Scoop the morels from the water with a slotted spoon, reserving the liquid. You should have 2 cups; if not, add water to make 2 cups. Drain the morels and rinse once more. If some of the mushrooms are large, cut into 2 or 3 pieces. Pour the mushroom liquid through a coffee filter or paper towel, discarding the gritty solids. Set the mushrooms and the liquid aside separately.
• Meanwhile, remove and discard the stems of the porcini and rub any dirt off the caps with a damp paper towel. Dont rinse them! Slice thickly and set aside.
• In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock with the 2 cups of reserved mushroom liquid and bring to a simmer.
• In a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the pancetta and shallots over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Add the morels and porcini and saute for another 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat the grains with butter. Add the wine and cook for 2 minutes. Add 2 full ladles of the chicken stock mixture to the rice plus the saffron, salt, and pepper. Stir and simmer over low heat until the stock is absorbed, 5 to 10 minutes. Continue to add the stock mixture, 2 ladles at a time, stirring every few minutes. Each time, cook until the mixture seems a little dry before adding more of the stock mixture. Continue until the rice is cooked through, but still al dente, about 25 to 30 minutes total. When done, the risotto should be thick and creamy and not at all dry. Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan cheese. Serve hot in bowls with extra cheese.

WILD MUSHROOM RISOTTO

Steps:

• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1/4 of mushrooms and sprinkle with salt. Sauté mushrooms until tender and beginning to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to medium bowl. Working in 3 more batches, repeat with 6 tablespoons butter, remaining mushrooms, and salt and pepper.
• Bring 7 cups chicken broth to simmer in medium saucepan; keep warm. Melt remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons butter with olive oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add leek, sprinkle with salt, and sauté until tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Add rice and increase heat to medium. Stir until edges of rice begin to look translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add white wine and vermouth and stir until liquid is absorbed, about 1 minute. Add 3/4 cup warm chicken broth; stir until almost all broth is absorbed, about 1 minute. Continue adding broth by 3/4 cupfuls, stirring until almost all broth is absorbed before adding more, until rice is halfway cooked, about 10 minutes. Stir in sautéed mushrooms. Continue adding broth by 3/4 cupfuls, stirring until almost all broth is absorbed before adding more, until rice is tender but still firm to bite and risotto is creamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, if using. Transfer risotto to serving bowl. Pass additional Parmesan cheese alongside, if desired.

WILD MUSHROOM RISOTTO

Steps:

• Bring chicken broth to simmer in medium saucepan. Reduce heat to low; cover and keep broth hot.
• Melt 3 tbsp butter with olive oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped shallots; sauté 1 minute. Add wild mushrooms; cook until mushrooms are tender and juices are released, about 8 minutes. Add rice and stir to coat. Add sherry and simmer until liquid is absorbed, stirring frequently, about 8 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high. Add 3/4 cup hot chicken broth and simmer until absorbed, stirring frequently. Add remaining hot chicken broth 3/4 cup at a time, allowing broth to be absorbed before adding more and stirring frequently until rice is just tender and mixture is creamy, about 20 minutes. Stir in Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh thyme. Serve warm.
• You may not need to use all the broth.