Risotto alle Castagne

Creamy risotto with chestnuts, wild mushrooms, onions, spinach, Parmigiano-Reggiano and freshly-grated nutmeg..

Risotto alle Castagne

For the Vegetable Stock (recipe from Gourmet magazine)

1/2 lb portabella mushrooms, caps and stems cut into 1-inch pieces
1 lb shallots, left unpeeled, quartered
1 lb carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 red bell peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces
6 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs (including stems)
5 fresh thyme sprigs
4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup dry white wine
2 bay leaves (not California)
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
2 qt water

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Toss together mushrooms, shallots, carrots, bell peppers, parsley and thyme sprigs, garlic, and oil in a large flameproof roasting pan. Roast in middle of oven, turning occasionally, until vegetables are golden, 30 to 40 minutes.

Transfer vegetables with slotted spoon to a tall narrow 6-quart stockpot. Set roasting pan across 2 burners, then add wine and deglaze pan by boiling over moderate heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 2 minutes. Transfer to stockpot and add bay leaves, tomatoes, and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 45 minutes. Pour through a large fine sieve into a large bowl, pressing on and discarding solids, then season with salt and pepper. Skim off fat.  Use within 1 week or freeze up to 3 months.

For the Risotto (adapted from a recipe by Judith Jones)

2 cups vegetable stock
1 tablespoon pastured butter
1/4 cup Spanish onion, diced
1/4 cup wild mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup chestnuts, peeled, blanched and sliced
1/4 cup fresh spinach, blanched, squeezed and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 oz white wine
2/3 cups Arborio rice
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4-1/2 teaspoon freshly-grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Heat the butter in a stainless steel skillet over medium heat and sauté the onions, mushrooms and garlic until soft and lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add the chestnuts and sauté another minute.

Add the white wine, salt and pepper and reduce.  Slowly add half the stock and cook, stirring continuously until absorbed.  Add the spinach, nutmeg and the rest of the stock and cook, stirring continuously until almost all the liquid has been absorbed, about 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in the cheese.  Serve immediately.

This post is in support of Meatless Monday, whose goal it is to goal is to help reduce
meat consumption by 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.

Rosemary Garlic Lamb Chops with Mint Peas and Wild Rice

Local, pastured lamb loin chops with rosemary garlic demi-glace, fresh peas with fried shallots and mint, and mushroom wild rice.

C’est si bon!

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Rosemary Garlic Lamb Chops with Mint Peas and Wild Rice

lamb loin chops from premiumlamb.com via greenling.com

Marinate lamb chops in olive oil, chopped garlic, fresh rosemary, freshly-ground pepper and a three-fingered pinch of coarse sea salt for 4 or more hours (refrigerated).  Allow to come up to room temperature before cooking.

Rinse and prepare true wild rice according to package directions, about 1 hour.  Add sautéed wild mushrooms, a teaspoon of pastured butter and salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm.

Lightly steam fresh peas until about 2/3 done, then transfer to a skillet with pastured butter and chopped shallots. Fry until browned, then season with chopped fresh mint, parsley and salt and pepper to taste.  Keep warm.

Quickly sear lamb chops in a very hot skillet with butter and a little of the marinade until well browned but still rare.  Transfer to a side plate.

De-glaze the pan with burgundy then scrape up all the brown bits with the side of a wooden spoon.  Add a little brown stock, reduce and finish with demi-glace and fresh rosemary.

Set the rare lamb chops in the pan with the demi-glace until warmed through, about 2-3 minutes.

To serve, heap wild rice in the center of a dinner plate and arrange lamb chops around the perimeter.  Spoon demi-glace over the top, then spoon peas in between the chops and garnish with additional mint and parsley.

This post is part of Food Renegade’s Fight Back Fridays

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Caramelized Leeks, Carrots & Wild Mushrooms in an Oregano Vermouth Cream Sauce

Caramelized purple heirloom carrots, leeks, wild mushrooms and garlic over a fresh oregano vermouth cream sauce with red pepper flakes, cracked peppercorns and finishing salt.  Topped with Grana Padano cheese.

This one’s going on the menu..

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click to enlarge

Bring chicken stock and dry white vermouth to a boil then add a variety of clean, dried wild mushrooms such as morel and chanterelle. Turn off heat and allow mushrooms to reconstitute for about 20 minutes.  Remove mushrooms, squeeze dry and set aside.

Return chicken stock/mushroom liquor to a gentle boil and reduce in half by volume.  Whisk in fresh cream and chopped fresh oregano and continue to simmer gently until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 20 minutes.  Adjust seasoning with S&P.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil over medium heat in a heavy skillet.  Add sliced carrots and cook until they begin to brown.  Add pastured butter and leeks and cook until caramelized, about 20 minutes.  Add mushrooms and chopped garlic and cook another 5 minutes.  Stir in a handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley and red pepper flakes and toss to combine.

Spoon or ladle cream sauce onto a dinner plate then mound vegetables on top.  Season with finishing salt, cracked peppercorns and shaved cheese.

This post is part of the Nourishing Gourmet’s Pennywise Platter Carnival


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Pan Seared Pork Medallions with Port, Wild Mushrooms and Fried Sage (favorite)

Wild mushrooms, stock, sharp feta or goat cheese, fresh sage, pork tenderloin filets, garlic, shallot, S&P and port.  Assorted vegetables such as carrots, parsnips, fennel and beans.

Toss the vegetables with S&P and a little bit of olive oil.  Roast in a 425 degree oven for 30 minutes, turning once.

Saute mushrooms, garlic and shallots in butter until browned and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes.

Season filets with S&P and saute in olive oil until well browned and internal temperature reaches 140 degrees, about 8 minutes per side.  Set aside.

Deglaze the pan with port, scraping up all the brown bits.  Add stock and bring to boil.  Reduce volume by half.

Meanwhile, fry the sage by making a thin batter of 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup water and S&P.  Holding the stem between your thumb and forefinger, dip the leaves into the batter and then into hot olive oil.  Fry for a minute or so then transfer to a plate to drain.

Add the filets and mushrooms back to the pan with the port and heat through, about 5 minutes.

Serve topped with crumbled goat or feta cheese and fried sage.

Rating  ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦