Mushroom Risotto

I've been meaning to post this recipe for ages, but never got round to it.  The reason being that I've cooked this for a fellow veggie and they've said "that's by far the best meal I've ever had". He was probably exaggurating, but it is one of my favourites, too. Very buttery- don't think I'd manage it everyday.

Ingredients for the stock:
2.5 l (4 pints) vegetable stock
50 g (1.8 oz) dried wild mushrooms (cep/porcini)
2 cloves of unpeeled garlic
sprig of thyme

And for the risotto:
250 g (9 oz) unsalted butter
2 onions, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 sprigs of thyme
250 g (9 oz) button mushrooms, sliced moderately finely
350 g (12 oz/4 handfuls) carnaroli rice
400 g (14 oz) selection of wild mushrooms
100 g (3.5 oz) parmesan cheese, to taste
pepper to taste
truffle oil and rocket salad to serve

Method for the stock:
In a saucepan, make up the stock.
Add the dried mushrooms, garlic and 1 sprig of thyme.
Leave to simmer until needed.

Method for the risotto:
Melt 3/4 of the butter in a saucepan until it is foaming, but not splitting.
Add the chopped onion, garlic and sprigs of thyme.
Gently move the ingredients around the pan with a wooden spoon to soften the onions in the butter. When the onions are translucent, add the sliced button mushrooms.
Cook on a gentle heat until the mushrooms are also translucent.
Add the rice and move it around in the mixture until you hear a faint little crackle.
Remove the garlic and thyme from the stock.
Add the stock to the rice, a little at a time, stirring all the time.
Cook for around 12–15 minutes – until you can bite right through a grain of rice with no hard bit in the middle.
Add the wild mushrooms and dried mushrooms from the stock.
Add the extra butter reserved earlier and the parmesan cheese to taste.
Serve the risotto with a drizzle of truffle oil and rocket salad.

That serves 4, and I got it from the TV show "Ever Wondered About Food?", cooked by Paul Merrett.

The Italian Slob

Not much posting this week, as I've either been eating other people's food (always good) or else having the same meal - tortellini with fresh chilli, garlic, pesto, and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. Plus freshly-grated Parmesan and freshly-milled black pepper. It's repetitive, but I love it. Especially with a serving of steamed purple-sprouting broccoli, which is by far my favourite vegetable, after the almighty asparagus.

In keeping with the Italian theme, I'm cooking another Delia Smith recipe tonight- Tagliatelle With Gorgonzola & Toasted Walnuts. It was that, or Penne With Wild Mushrooms & Creme Fraiche. It was just a case of which set of ingredients I could lay my hands on first. I was impressed that I managed to find some delicious Cashel Blue in the first shop I tried- the awesome Nima Delicatessen, just down the road.

Anyway, the ingredients are slightly different- I'm using penne instead of tagliatelle, with the added advantage that, when I'm eating it, I'm less likely to splash cheese sauce in all directions in a four-foot radius. I'm also using Cashel Blue instead of Gorgonzola- I've tried this recipe before using each, and I think the trusty Irish cheese comes out on top.

Ingredients:
8 oz (225g) tagliatelle
4 oz (110g) creamy Gorgonzola or Cashel Blue
4 0z (110g) walnuts
2 oz (50g) butter
5 fl oz (150ml) single cream
4 spring onions, trimmed
freshly-grated Parmesan, to serve
salt & freshly-milled black pepper

Method:
Pre-heat the oven - 180 degrees C (gas mark 4, 350 degrees F).
Get the pasta water boiling.
Bake the walnuts on a baking tray for 6 mins.
Get a saucepan, & gently melt the butter over a low heat.
Add the cheese & cream, & let simmer very gently to become a creamy sauce.
Put the pasta in for boiling, and chop the walnuts into small pieces.
Finely chop the spring onions, add the ingredients to the sauce, mix with the drained pasta, & serve sprinkled with Parmesan.

Delicious, quick & easy.

Sabzi Korma

I bought a copy of Julie Sahni's Classic Indian Vegetarian Cookery about 2 years ago, and I only got around to trying a recipe last week. I used to be on a quest to master the dark art of cooking curry in the style of British Indian restaurants, but trying out experimental recipes with lots of oil can get out of hand. There is a great site - Curry Recipes Online, which has a lot of truly devoted curry fans, working towards perfecting home-made curries, in the British restaurant style. I've mentioned that forum before, and you can bet I'll mention it again.

Anyway, I dug out and dusted down CIVC because I was getting curry cravings. Without further ado, here's the recipe for sabzi korma (cauliflower, aubergine & potato in herb sauce). Serves 4.
And it's delicious. In fact, I'll just quote her description, because it's very mouth-watering:

Korma is the classic Moghul technique of braising vegetables in a thick, nut-rich sauce. In this process the vegetables retain their flavour & shape during cooking. Thus korma dishes are considered one of the most elegant preparations in vegetarian cookery & often occupy the centre place at the banquet table. Here the vegetables are cooked in a fennel-&-coriander-scented and almond-tomato sauce. The toasted sesame garnish adds an interesting texture as well as a nutty flavour to the dish.

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium onions (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
2 tablespoons grated or crushed fresh ginger root
5 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander
30g (1 oz) ground blanched almonds
1 tbsp ground coriander seeds
1/2 tsp ground fennel seeds
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tin of tomatoes, pureed (or 2 fresh tomatoes, pureed, plus 2 teaspoons tomato paste)
1 tsp paprika
350 ml (12 fl oz) water
1 medium-sized cauliflower (about 2lbs), cut into florets
1 small aubergine (about 250g/ 8 oz), cut into 4cm or 1.5 inch cubes
2 medium-sized potatoes (about 250g/ 8 oz), peeled & cut into 4cm or 1.5 inch cubes
1.5 tsps ground roasted cumin seeds (or garam masala)
2 tsps coarse salt
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Method:
Get all the spices ready to go in separate piles.
Heat the oil in a heavy pan over a medium-high heat.
Add the onion & fry, stirring, 'til browned- about 10 mins.
Stir in the garlic & ginger & cook for 2 mins.
Add the coriander leaves & almonds, & cook for another 2 mins.

Stir in the ground coriander seeds, fennel, cayenne & turmeric - let the spices sizzle for a few seconds.
Add the tomatoes & paprika, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 2 mins. Keep stirring to prevent burning.

Add the water & the rest of the vegetables. Turn the heat up high, and bring to the boil.
Lower the heat & simmer (covered) for 30 mins.
Turn off the heat & stir in the cumin powder (or garam masala).
Let stand for 30 mins before serving, to let the flavours blend, & then serve sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Sopa De Repollo

A day later than planned, but here's a recipe for Chilean cabbage soup. Have no fear, I'm not on a fad diet, I just wanted to use up a glut of cabbage. It's pretty good, but ultimately it's just cabbage soup. Even as a fan of vegetables, it didn't really float my boat. It was nice and light, but I much prefer an even simpler way of eating cabbage (predictably, the Delia Smith way).

Shred the cabbage finely, put in a pan, add salt, add boiling water, cook for 3-5 mins, drain, stir in a little melted butter, and season with salt and freshly-ground black pepper.

As this post has a hint of Chile, I just wanted to say that I've never had a bad bottle of Chilean wine, especially the pinot grape varietity. If you fancy a change from the usual, mass-marketed Australians & Californians, check them out.

Red Hot Chilli Peppers

Hi all - 'fraid I haven't been doing much interesting cooking over much of the last week due to a combination of a cold, and the rubbish weather. Hence I've mostly been eating shop-bought tortellini, with tons of chilli & garlic added, to keep my respiratory system stimulated. Don't know if that actually helped, but it felt like it did.

I bought a bag full of fresh veg from my local farm shop at the start of last week, being mindful that I'm trying to cook in season. So I'd got potatoes, cabbage, cauliflower, leeks, onions & carrots.
I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do with them, and I didn't want to just do a mixed veg soup. So, I ended up just having cabbage on its own, as a meal, then leeks on their own, and then using some of the other veg in a curry. And today, I used the rest of the leftover veg with a new supply to make...soup. Crazy stuff, eh? I'll post the recipes tomorrow.

Celeriac & Chilli Gratin

Right, it's high time that I posted a seasonal recipe, so I've had a go at a celeriac dish from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's website.

This is so simple to make- about 5 minutes to prep everything, if you've got a food processor.

Ingredients:
1kg celeriac
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2–1 fresh red chilli (depending on strength), finely chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes)
250ml single cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Peel the celeriac and slice as thinly as possible - about the thickness of a 10-pence piece is ideal; use the slicing blade of a food processor, if you like.
In a large mixing bowl, toss the celeriac slices with 2 tablespoons of the oil and all the other ingredients until the slices are evenly coated and the garlic and chilli well distributed.

Transfer to a lightly-oiled gratin dish, spreading out the slices with your fingertips: you do not have to layer the gratin piece by piece but try to ensure that the slices are mostly lying flat.

Pour over any cream left in the bowl and trickle the remaining oil over the top. Bake in a fairly hot oven (190°C/Gas Mark 5) for 40-50 minutes, until the celeriac is completely tender and the top is browned and crisp.

I guess this is essentially a dauphinoise, but with celeriac and a lively chilli kick, and it's mighty fine- celeriac making a fantastic substitute for potato.