Recipes

Risotto with Mushrooms

Dave is making risotto with mushrooms for lunch, so I thought I would take notes for anyone who wants to try some Italian cooking at home. This is just how he makes it, every Italian family has their own version. The measurements are my best guess, since he often measures things by eye or the handful!

Risotto ai Funghi
4 tablespoons olive oil
60g dried porcini mushrooms, rehydrated (can use fresh)
3 cloves of garlic, peeled
4 stems of fresh parsley leaves, chopped
1.5 litres of vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice (approx. 80g per person)
1/4 cup white wine
60g Parmigiano reggiano

Heat a frying pan on medium-high with (olive) oil and add peeled garlic cloves and mushrooms. Sauté until browned. Add half of the parsley and season with salt and pepper. Pour wine over the mushrooms and cook over low-medium heat until the wine evaporates. Remove garlic cloves, add remaining parsley and set aside.

Meanwhile, bring a pot of vegetable stock to boil, you can use powered bouillon, prepared vegetable stock, or make your own - see below for instructions. Optional: Place a few spoonfuls of cooked mushrooms in a bowl, add some of the vegetable stock and purée using an immersion blender until smooth.
Toast the Arborio rice in a pan over medium heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning, until lightly golden. This should only take a few minutes. Add vegetable stock to the rice a ladle at a time until the rice is thoroughly cooked. Add Parmigiano reggiano, mushrooms, and purée to the rice and stir. Serve immediately.

Vegetable Stock
Peel and roughly chop 2 large carrots, 1 large onion and 3 stalks of celery. Heat oil in a pan and sauté vegetable on high heat for 5-10 minutes. Cover with water and simmer for about an hour.


For an alternative recipe with a video, try Giallo Zafferano's version.
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 Castagnole are a traditional treat for Carnevale. Although typically flavored with anise liqueur (Sambuca) these little dough balls remind me of Timbits!

Castagnole

40g Butter
50g Sugar
1 pinch of salt
200g Flour '00'
zest of 1/2 lemon
8g of baking powder (for desserts)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of anise liqueur (Sambuca)
1 Vanilla bean
Peanut oil to fry
Granulated sugar

Add the vanilla to the sugar and mix. Sift in the flour and add the remaining ingredients. Combine the ingredients with a fork and then continue to knead by hand. As soon as the dough is uniform, transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and soft. If the dough is too sticky, use a scraper to help knead. Place the dough in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, letting it rest for 30 minutes.

Heat the peanut oil to 170*. Cut the dough into 12g pieces (about the size of a walnut) and shape them into a ball. You should get around 30 pieces with this recipe. Fry the dough in small batches so you can turn them over, until they are golden. Drain on paper towel. While the castagnole are still hot, roll them in granulated sugar. Eat them right away, they dont keep well. Enjoy!

You can use rum, orange juice or other flavorings. You can also dust them with cinnamon and sugar.