Risotto ai funghi

To my mind, mushroom risotto heralds the start of autumn and although there are a still a few days to go until summer officially ends, the crisp, bright mornings, the dark evenings and the golden leaves falling from my silver birch tree have instilled in me a 'mists and mellow fruitfulness' kind of mood. It was either risotto-making or putting away my summer clothes and I don't feel quite ready to take that step yet.

Risotto ai funghi is an Italian classic. The best versions are made with the king of mushrooms, fresh porcini, which are coming into season right now. They have an incredibly rich, aromatic, almost meaty flavour that is vigorous enough to withstand a fair amount of cooking. However, while I would love to be able to say that this risotto was made with porcini that I picked on a walk in the woods yesterday, it would not be true. I have never yet found any in this area but I am convinced that they do grow here as conditions are surely perfect. There is no need to despair however as a delicious risotto can be made with a combination of dried porcini (which you can fortunately buy everywhere) and some fresh chestnut mushrooms added towards the end of the cooking time.

I always have a packet of dried porcini in the larder as their intense mushroomy flavour not only makes a fantastic risotto but also adds instant 'umami' to a whole variety of sauces and stews. The other ingredient that turns this risotto into something special is a porcini stock cube. I hardly ever use stock cubes but I make an exception for these (dadi Star ai Funghi Porcini) as they add a real punchy flavour. I usually stock up when I'm in Italy because they are not easy to find in the UK but happily, Carluccio's has recently started selling them.

I'm sending this to Katie Bryson from the lovely blog Feeding boys and a firefighter, who is this month's host of the Simple and In Season challenge, the brainchild of Ren at Fabulicious Food.

RECIPE

Serves 2 generously

1 shallot (or half an onion), finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

30g dried porcini mushrooms

50g butter

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 glass dry white wine

1 litre mushroom stock (made with porcini stock cube, see above)

250g carnaroli or arborio rice

200-250g chestnut mushrooms

generous grating of fresh parmesan

Put the dried mushrooms to soften in a jug of warm water for about half an hour.

Take the mushrooms out of the water (but make sure you don't throw it away as you will need it later on) and rinse them well, making sure there are no tiny particles of grit or soil left lurking in any crevasses. Chop them roughly but don't make them too small. Filter the mushroom water by pouring it through a sieve lined with a sheet of kitchen towel. You can add this to the stock.

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil and the knob of butter in a pan and add the finely chopped shallot and garlic. Cook over a gentle heat until soft, making sure they do not start to burn. Add the dried porcini mushrooms and carry on cooking for a few minutes.

Tip in the rice and stir well so that all the grains are coated in the buttery juices. Turn up the heat to medium and pour in the wine. Keep stirring until it is absorbed.

Start adding the stock, a ladleful at a time, making sure it is all absorbed before adding the next, stirring all the while to make sure the rice doesn't start to stick.

In the meantime, roughly chop the chestnut mushrooms and fry in a separate pan with a little oil until golden brown.

The rice should be cooked after about 18-20 minutes (it should still have a slight 'bite' to it). You might not need all the stock or you may need a little more (you could just add boiling water). Stir in the cooked chestnut mushrooms at this point.

Add a generous knob of butter, stirring all the time so that it melts into the risotto and the texture becomes creamy. You can also beat in the parmesan at this point or you can sprinkle it over just before eating if you prefer.

Pasta with tomatoes and mushrooms

This is an easy mid-week pasta, good for vegetarians or if you're trying to cut down on meat.

You can use any short pasta shape. My favourite is mezze penne (literally half penne); they're the same thickness as regular penne but about half the length. I just love them because they seem to work with all kinds of sauces and they make perfect little mouthfuls. The only problem is that we cannot find them in the UK (or at least not round here) so we come back from trips to Italy with our luggage and pockets stuffed with packets of De Cecco mezze penne, along with huge hunks of parmesan, coffee and slabs of prosciutto.

RECIPE

Serves 3-4

350g pasta
250g chestnut mushrooms, roughly chopped
half an onion or one shallot, very finely chopped
400g tin chopped tomatoes
a pinch of chilli flakes, optional
extra virgin olive oil

Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling, salted water.

While the pasta is cooking, heat some olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the mushrooms over a high heat, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms have lost their liquid and become golden brown.

At the same time, in a separate frying pan, heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and cook the onion gently until soft and translucent. Add the tomatoes and chilli if using. Season to taste and continue cooking for about 5 mins.

Add the mushrooms to the tomato sauce and mix thoroughly.

When the pasta is al dente, drain well and tip into the tomato and mushroom sauce. Mix everything together and serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a grating of fresh parmesan.

Tagliatelle with porcini mushrooms

This is one of my all time favourite pasta dishes. I love porcini mushrooms but unfortunately it's very difficult to buy them fresh here, even in the autumn, when they're in season. Happily, good quality dried porcini make an excellent substitute.

Some Italians add cream to the sauce but I think it masks the flavour of the mushrooms so I prefer to keep it simple. I've used tagliatelle here but pappardelle and fettuccine both work well too.


RECIPE - Serves 2


200g tagliatelle
40-50g dried porcini
1 shallot, finely chopped
half a glass dry white wine
1 tablespoon passata
a handful fresh parsley, chopped
extra virgin olive oil
a knob of butter
salt and pepper
fresh parmesan to serve


Put the dried mushrooms to soften in a jug of warm water for about half an hour.


Take the mushrooms out of the water (but make sure you don't throw it away as you will need it later on) and rinse them well, making sure there are no tiny particles of grit or soil left lurking in any crevasses. If they're very big, you can roughly chop them but don't make them too small. Filter the mushroom water by pouring it through a sieve lined with a sheet of kitchen towel.


Heat a tablespoon of olive oil and the knob of butter in a pan and add the finely chopped shallot. Cook over a gentle heat until soft. Add the mushrooms and carry on cooking for a few minutes.


Throw in the wine and let it bubble and absorb. Then add some of the mushroom water and let it absorb. Stir in the passata and cook for a few more minutes, adding more mushroom water if it seems to be getting too dry. Stir in the parsley and a good grinding of black pepper. Add salt to taste.


Cook the tagliatelle while you're preparing the sauce. When the pasta is ready, add a ladleful of the cooking water to the mushrooms. Drain the pasta and add it to the mushroom sauce, mixing everything together gently. Serve with a generous grating of fresh parmesan.