Mushroom Risoni

Continuing with my stance on cooking risoni instead of risotto I came across a recipe by Ian Parmenter on the ABC website for mushroom risoni which is a bit of a faux-risotto.

 

I love a good mushroom risotto so I wasn’t so sure about cooking mushroom risoni because I felt that it had too much to live up to, but it turned out to be delicious. The risoni worked well within the mix, while you get a soft creamy consistency with risotto, you get a more al dente risoni which provided a bit more texture to the whole dish. I adapted the recipe a little to give it more bursts of flavour - I cooked the risoni in chicken stock rather than just boiling it in water and sauted the mushrooms with thyme. I love thyme, it’s one of my favourite herbs to cook with and I love the smell of it.

Ingredients

•    250g risoni
•    2 cups stock (note: or just cook the risoni in water)
•    2 shallots, diced
•    2 cloves crushed garlic
•    ~300g mushrooms, sliced (10g reconstituted porcini mushrooms plus a mix of button and swiss brown mushrooms)
•    1 tablespoon olive oil
•    1 tablespoon butter
•    1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
•    pinch of salt and pepper
•    grating of nutmeg
•    150-200ml cream
•    50g parmesan, plus extra for serving
•    100-150g baby spinach leaves
•    2 tablespoons parsley, chopped

Method

In a saucepan, bring to boil the stock and add in a pinch of salt. Add the risoni to the stock and cook for 8-10 minutes until all the liquid has gone and the risoni is al dente, stirring regularly to prevent the risoni sticking to the bottom of the saucepan. OR just cook the risoni in water in accordance with packet instructions. 

Melt the butter and olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the shallots and fry for a few minutes until the shallots have softened, then add in the garlic and fry for 30 seconds. Add in all the mushrooms and cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring continuously so that the mushrooms cook evenly. Add in thyme, grating of nutmeg, pinch of salt and pepper, cook for 1-2 minutes.

Pour in the cream and reduce a little for a few minutes. Stir in the cooked risoni and parmesan. Mix well until the parmesan has melted. Then add the spinach leaves and stir to combine.

Serve topped with parsley and parmesan.