Wild Mushroom Risotto Balls Recipes

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 BALLS

Steps:

• Soak dried morel and porcini mushrooms in a bowl with 2 cups water.
• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add leek; cook and stir until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add mixed sliced mushrooms and cook until tender, 2 to 3 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer leek mixture to a bowl.
• Heat vegetable stock in a saucepan to a low simmer.
• Wipe the skillet used for the leek mixture and return to medium heat. Add remaining butter, onions, thyme, and bay leaf. Cook and stir until softened, about 5 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring to coat all the grains, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Remove the re-hydrated mushrooms from the bowl and pour the liquid into the rice. Bring to a boil, stirring until all liquid has been absorbed, 3 to 5 minutes. Chop mushrooms and add to rice. Add the heated stock, 1 ladle at a time, stirring until almost completely absorbed after each addition, about 20 minutes total.
• Stir leek mixture, mascarpone cheese, 3/4 of the Parmesan cheese, and jerk seasoning in with the rice. Stir until combined. Remove from heat and let cool until safe to handle, at least 30 minutes.
• Season flour with salt and pepper and spread mixture over a plate.
• Whisk eggs together in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.
• Mix remaining Parmesan cheese with panko in a dish.
• Form small balls of risotto using a small ice cream scoop or by hand. Dust with flour, coat with egg, and roll in the panko mixture. Place on a baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Cool in the refrigerator, 8 hours to overnight.
• Heat oil in a saucepan. Fry mushroom balls in batches, turning halfway until golden brown, about 4 minutes per batch.

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.

GRILLED MUSHROOM RISOTTO

Steps:

• A mushroom risotto can be taken in many different ways, depending on what kind of mushrooms you have and whether they are introduced at the very beginning of cooking or just added at the end, as I'm going to do here. The inspiration for this recipe came when I was in Japan and saw mushrooms being cooked completely dry on a barbecue or griddle pan. This way of cooking brings out a really fresh and nutty flavour in them; perfect for being dressed lightly with olive oil, salt and lemon juice or stirred into a risotto at the last minute before serving.
• Heat your stock in a saucepan and keep it on a low simmer. Place the porcini mushrooms in a bowl and pour in just enough hot stock to cover. Leave for a couple of minutes until they've softened. Fish them out of the stock and chop them, reserving the soaking liquid.
• In a large pan, heat a lug of olive oil and add the onion and celery. Slowly fry without colouring them for at least 10 minutes, then turn the heat up and add the rice. Give it a stir. Stir in the vermouth or wine - it'll smell fantastic! Keep stirring until the liquid has cooked into the rice. Now pour the porcini soaking liquid through a sieve into the pan and add the chopped porcini, a good pinch of salt and your first ladle of hot stock. Turn the heat down to a simmer and keep adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring and massaging the starch out of the rice, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next.
• Carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite. This will take about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, get a dry griddle pan hot and grill the wild mushrooms until soft. If your pan isn't big enough, do this in batches. Put them into a bowl and add the chopped herbs, a pinch of salt and the lemon juice. Using your hands, get stuck in and toss everything together - this is going to be incredible!
• Take the risotto off the heat and check the seasoning carefully. Stir in the butter and the Parmesan. You want it to be creamy and oozy in texture, so add a bit more stock if you think it needs it. Put a lid on and leave the risotto to relax for about 3 minutes.
• Take your risotto and add a little more seasoning or Parmesan if you like. Serve a good dollop of risotto topped with some grilled dressed mushrooms, a sprinkling of freshly grated Parmesan and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

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.