Risotto with Chanterelles and Porcinis

I love this time of a year when fresh chanterelles become available and price per pound drops to about $10. One of my favorite dishes to make in the fall is a mushroom risotto. I adopted this recipe from a PCC cooking class I took almost a decade ago. Here is my recipe.

Ingredients:

1 lb of chanterelles
1 large shallot
4 cups of mushroom stock
1 1/2 cups of arborio rice
1 oz of dried porcini
1 tablespoon of butter
Olive Oil for cooking

Salt and Pepper

For serving:

Parmesan Cheese
Fresh Basil/Italian Parsley

Preparation:

1. Separate chanterelle caps from stems and chop each into bite size pieces. Caps cook faster than stems. Pour hot water over dried porcini (about 1 cup) and set aside. Finely chop the shallot.

2. You will need two large soup pots for making a risotto. One will be used to keep the stock warm and another to actually cook the risotto. Pour mushroom stock in a large soup pot, bring to boil and then lower heat to low or simmer, just enough to keep it warm. Stock must be warm when cooking a risotto.

3. To another large pot add olive oil (about 1-2 tablespoons), 1/2 of chopped shallot, and chanterelle caps and on medium heat saute until mushrooms are cooked and shallots are translucent. This should take about 15 minutes. Stir often and adjust heat as needed to prevent burning. Once caps are cooked, transfer them into a separate bowl, salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

4. To the same pot add a little bit more olive oil, the rest of a shallot and chanterelle stems. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook on medium heat and stir. Let cook for about 10 minutes, then add arborio rice and stir to make sure all rice kernels are covered with liquid. Depending on your stove you may need to reduce the heat to medium low. Next, add warm stock from another pot with a ladle just enough so that the rice is covered. The rice will start boiling, stir lightly. Once you see that rice has absorbed all the stock, add more, again just enough to cover the rice. Repeat the process until you see that rice kernels are almost cooked but have still a small white eye in the middle.

5. At this time, add cooked mushroom caps, chopped reconstituted porcini mushrooms with the water they have been soaking in. Stir and bring to a boil and simmer. This will be the last liquid you will add. Once the rest of the liquid has been absorbed add butter to the risotto to hold it together and stir gently. I usually close the lid and let risotto sit for another 5-10 minutes before serving.

6. I usually serve risotto with Parmesan cheese and fresh basil or parsley.