Risotto con Funghi Misti (A guest post by Linda Poulnott)

I was delighted to host the first of my friend Linda Poulnott’s posts about Neapolitan cooking, based on her experience of living in the Bay of Naples for over 20 years.

Linda’s first post, about how you can cook like a real Neapolitan Mamma [Come facette mammeta (like mother makes)] is full of useful tips which can be easily followed to great effect can be found here: http://snigskitchen.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/come-facette-mammeta-guest-post-by.html

But right now I am very pleased to be hosting the second of Linda’s guest posts. This is her take on an authentic southern Italian risotto. I love the directness of this recipe. I love risotto, and I enjoy making it at home, but perhaps have been overcomplicating this classic dish. Linda’s version is deceptively simple, but lives up to one of her guiding principles for “real” Neapolitan food; to let the ingredients shine and speak for themselves.

So I will now leave you to enjoy Linda’s brilliant recipe, which I hope you will make at home and share with your family and friends.

Linda Poulnott; friend, cook, guitarist, music fan and all round lovely person

RISOTTO CON FUNGHI MISTI (Risotto with mixed mushrooms.)

Ingredients for 4 people

350g of arborio risotto rice

150g of fresh mixed mushrooms (you can use a pre-packed selection)

1 medium onion

1 small glass of white wine (or a large one and you can drink half!)

50g of cooked ham (optional) (look out for Italian proscuitto crudo, but any cooked ham will do)

500mi vegetable or ham stock

1 clove of garlic

2 tablespoons of olive oil

A handful of finely grated parmesan

A teaspoon of finely chopped Italian flat leaf parsley

Salt

Pepper

You will need:

A frying pan

A saucepan

A ladle

Method

1. Clean and chop the mushrooms, onion and garlic.

2. Add a tablespoon of oil to a large frying pan and fry the mushrooms, garlic, ham and onion gently until cooked (about 10 minutes), add a little salt, then set aside on a warm plate. If you prefer to add the garlic towards the end of the cooking time to prevent burning, this is a good idea.

3. Prepare the stock in a saucepan and IMPORTANT (!) keep it simmering! Have a ladle ready to add the stock to the frying pan when needed.

4. Add the remaining oil to the frying pan which should be on a medium heat. Add the rice and stir until it starts to turn opaque. At that point pour in the glass of white wine and stir.

5. When most of the liquid has been absorbed add the first ladleful of stock. Once again stir until the liquid has almost been absorbed then add another ladleful. The secret of a good risotto is to keep it simmering and stir often. Do not be tempted to add lots of liquid at once or turn up the heat. This results in rice that's soggy outside and hard in the middle. Yuk!

6. After about 12 minutes try some rice to check if it's almost ready. Add salt if needed. 

7. Near the end of the cooking time add the mushroom mixture, parsley and, just as you are ready to serve, add the grated parmesan. The risotto should have a very creamy texture. 

You can garnish with the remaining parsley.

BUON APPETITO!

Courgette and Mushroom Soup

Him Indoors and I recently visited a lovely little local French restaurant in Dulwich called Le Chardon. (Anyone interested in their website will find it here: http://www.lechardon.co.uk/)

Full of character, it is an informal French bistro converted from an old David Grieg grocery store with all the fin de siècle tile work and shopfront retained. Even though all the tiles have thistles on them (hence the name, as un chardon is a thistle in French), it has a homely and welcoming Gallic feel. I can’t explain it, but if you are ever in this neck of the woods, check it out and you’ll see what I mean.

The menu was full of variety, with fresh seafood, French country style dishes and bistro favourites. Sadly there was no cassoulet, but then given how long it takes to cook, you can’t blame them.

Anyway, after scouring the menu we turned our attention to the specials board. The rabbit stew wasn’t what I had wanted to eat for my main, and Him Indoors isn’t a rabbit kind of guy.  What we did notice was that the soup of the day was Courgette and Mushroom. It appealed to us, but firstly, we probably wanted to eat some of the other starters a lot more and secondly, soup with bread can be very filling and can spoil your appetite for the main. So we ordered other starters, but kept the idea in mind that perhaps we could have a go at making a French influenced Courgette and Mushroom soup all of our own.

I am sure those of you more well-versed in French cooking may find this isn’t the most authentic recipe. I don’t claim to have any expertise in French food. But hopefully some of you will give this soup a go and enjoy its herby mellow creaminess. We certainly did.

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 courgettes, very finely diced but unpeeled

60ml Double cream

3 cloves garlic, very finely diced

2 echalion (banana) shallots, peeled and finely diced

300g mixed  mushrooms (I used 2 portobello, with the remainder being chestnut mushrooms), very finely diced

1 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme

700 ml Vegetable (unless you prefer Chicken) stock

2 x 2 tbsp olive oil

2 x 15g unsalted butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Put the first batches of butter and olive oil into a large saucepan and heat gently until the butter melts.  Add the diced courgette and fry on a gentle heat for 10 minutes. 

Remove the courgette from the pan. Put the pan back on the heat and put in the second batch of butter and olive oil, and again, heat gently until the butter melts.

Now add the chopped shallots and fry for 5 minutes.

Add the garlic, thyme and mushrooms and fry gently for a further 10 minutes. You want all the veg to ‘sweat’ rather than brown.

Now put the courgette back in the pan and heat through.

Put all the veg in a blender, topping up with the chicken stock. Blitz until you have a soupy consistency.

Return to the pan.  Add the cream slowly, stirring as you go. Depending on the remaining water content of the courgettes and mushrooms, you may need less cream or perhaps much more (I’d say up to 100ml). You want a creamy smooth texture with some richness of flavour.

When you are happy with your texture, taste and season if necessary.

Put on a gentle heat to warm through the soup, (only about 3 minutes).

Serve up in bowls with a small swirl of cream.

Mushroom and Chicken Spelt Risotto

This is a dish inspired by the Spelt and Porcini Risotto I had at Skylon Restaurant at the South Bank. A place worth visiting for good food and lovely views across the river. 

I realise the pictures here are a little shaky. I was working in low light and did not want to use the flash, since indoors it always seems to mess up the colours. Apologies. But you can still get the general idea of the dish and how it is made.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

3 chicken thighs, skin on (or use leftover roast chicken)

10g dried porcini

1 shallot/½ small onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, very finely chopped

1 glass vermouth

140g spelt

5 chestnut mushrooms, chopped

750ml stock

4 tablespoons finely grated parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon butter

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
   
   
2. Soak the porcini in half a mug of boiling water for at least half an hour.
   
   
   
3. Roast the chicken thighs in the oven, at around 180°C for around 25-30 mins, until cooked. Leave to cool, remove skin and break up into small bite sized pieces.
   
   
   
4. Drain the porcini, try to squeeze out the excess water, and chop finely.
   
   
   
5. Put on another pan with the hot stock in it, keeping it warm. I put it on a very low heat with the lid on.
   
   
6. Melt the butter in a pan, and add the olive oil and mix together. Now add the onion/shallot and fry for 5 minutes.
   
   
   
7. Now add the chestnut mushrooms and garlic and fry for another 2 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent the garlic from burning.
   
   
   
8. Add the drained porcini and fry for another 5 minutes.
   
   
   
9. Add the spelt, turn up the heat slightly and toast the grains for around 2 minutes, stirring frequently. This ensures the tough shell of the grain can take in the vermouth and stock you will be adding shortly.
   
   
   
10. Now add the vermouth, and allow the alcohol to burn off, about 3-5 minutes.
    
    
    
11. Now comes the adding of the stock and the most labour intensive part of the dish. Add the stock, ladle by ladle, stirring as you go, until the liquid disappears. You will be doing this for a long time as the cooking time for spelt is pretty long and in any even much longer than for risotto rice. Keep going for about 40-45 minutes. Check the spelt is cooked, as you may need to cook a little longer.
    
    
    
    
12. Now add the cooked chicken, mix thoroughly and ensure the chicken is heated through. 
    
     
13. Serve in bowls topped with the grated parmesan.