DONNA - risotto recipe

[Guest guest]

Hello Donna,

 

I hardly ever cook from recipes and I make this so often that I could just about do it blindfold and with one hand tied behind my back!!! However, I did happen to remember which book the original recipe was in so I checked it out to be sure to give you reliable quantities, directions etc. Imagine my surprise to discover that, when I first started to make it 'hundreds' of years ago, it had started life out as "mushroom risotto". I'll give you the recipe as it is written then my "leekified" version.

 

MUSHROOM RISOTTO - from Family Circle "Classic Essential Vegetables" published by Murdoch Books, Sydney

Serves 4-6

Total cooking time 35-40 minutes

 

3 cups (750 ml/8 fl oz) vegetable stock

1 cup (250 ml/8 fl oz) white wine

60 g (2 oz) butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 leek, sliced

250 g (8 oz) flat mushrooms, sliced

250 g (8 oz) arborio rice

1/2 cup (50 g/1 2/3 oz) grated parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

 

Place the stock and wine in a pan. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer gently.

 

Heat the butter and oil in a large heavy-based pan. Add the leek and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, or until tender. Add the rice and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

 

Add 1/2 cup (125 ml/4 fl oz) of stock to rice and stir until absorbed than add more stock. Repeat until al the stock has been used and the rice is soft and creamy (about 25-30 minutes). Stir in the parmesan and thyme and cook for 1 minute, or until the cheese has melted.

 

And now for my version - about the only thing that stays the same is the proportions of the ingredients. I honestly had no idea how much I had altered the original recipe over the years but this is how I make it now. Even though there only 2 of us I usually make the full quantity as the makes a wonderful filling for stuffed peppers, which we often have a couple of days after the risotto meal.

 

LEEK RISOTTO (Marie's Version)

 

3 1/2 cups of vegetable stock

1/2 cup unsweetened apple juice (we don't use alcohol. I find that a whole cup of apple juice makes the risotto taste rather too sweet. So long as the total quantity of liquid is 4 cups, the actual proportion of water to wine/juice is a bit flexible)

30 g butter (I have become much more conscious of our fat intake and halving the amount of butter still gives good results)

1 tablespoon olive oil

3-4 small to medium leeks, thoroughly washed and thinly sliced

about 4-5 sliced button mushrooms ( I often use chestnut mushrooms as I find that they tend to hold their shape and texture very well)

250 g arborio rice

50 g grated parmesan

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme (I find the taste of thyme rather strong so I use much less than in the original recipe. I have also made the recipe using fresh chives instead of thyme)

60 g (2 oz) sultanas (I have no idea when or why I decided to add the sultanas but they taste good, even if it may seem a slightly unusual ingredient to add to a savoury risotto

salt and pepper to taste (again, something I have obviously decided to add at some stage along the 'development' road of the recipe - possibly to counter the sweetness of the apple juice)

 

The method is virtually exactly the same as for the "real" version. I add the sultanas with the parmesan. I sometimes sprinkle chopped fresh parsley and/or a few parmesan shavings over the top for presentation.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Cheers from Marie

 

 

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purplepassion

Sunday, September 25, 2005 1:58 PM

Re: 2 weeks down : ) Hi Marie in Holland

 

If you have time I would like your recipe for leek risotto, Thanks, Donna