Rice goes glam as risotto
By VERONICA HINKE Contributor January 24, 2012 3:28PM
Chef Luis Quiroz's Wild Mushroom Risotto. | Ruthie Hauge ~ Sun-Times Media
Wild Mushroom Risotto
(Adapted from Barrington Country Bistro)
Serves 4-6 people
MUSHROOMS:
15 ounces seasonal 2 shallots 2 cloves of garlic 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 medium carrot, peeled and diced ½ medium onion Reserved mushrooms and trimmings ½ cup white wine 8 cups chicken or vegetable stock 10 ounces Arborio rice ½ medium onion 3 cloves of garlic 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon butter 1 ounce butter, room 4-5 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated 3 tablespoons heavy cream
mushrooms (3 ounces for stock and trimmings)
(optional)
(MANTECARE):
temperature
Stock: Sauté carrots, onions and mushroom trimmings. Deglaze with wine and add stock. Let simmer for about 15-20 minutes on low heat.
Risotto: In heavy bottom pot, sauté onions, garlic and olive oil. Add Arborio rice and sauté until onions are translucent. Deglaze with wine and add half of the stock. Stir constantly. Lower heat, and continue to cook until rice has absorbed most of the stock and just add a little more stock at a time. Add mixed mushrooms. Cook until al dente or a bit longer if you wish. Finish with grated Parmesan cheese, butter and heavy cream. Stir quickly. Serve immediately.
Article Extras
Updated: February 2, 2012 8:58AM
Rice is the staple food for more than half of the human population. That’s according to the International Rice Research Institute. And chefs help us consume our share of that rice when they turn the humble staple into the gourmet delight known as risotto.
“Risotto is easy to make and it can take on many different flavors,” said Luis Quiroz, chef de cuisine at Barrington Country Bistro in Barrington.
A challenging part of the process can be ensuring that the correct amount of liquid, which usually consists of chicken or vegetable stock and white wine, is cooked into the rice. Most chefs add the liquid to the rice in batches, taste-testing as they progress. The trick is to make a consistency that is not too thick or too thin. “I like my risotto a little runny,” Quiroz said.
Pick a flavor
Risotto is one of the easiest, most satisfying ways to showcase seasonal ingredients. “Risotto is very versatile,” Quiroz said. “You can make meat, vegetable or seafood risottos.”
This time of year, Quiroz features braised pork shoulder, roasted bell pepper, Spanish chorizo and other hearty ingredients in his signature risottos. Different types of risotto appear on his menu on a revolving basis. Each daily special reflects whatever mood he is in and what’s in season. Wild mushrooms — black trumpets, hedgehogs and chanterelles among them — shine in Quiroz’s Wild Mushroom Risotto. Come spring, he’ll showcase fresh morel mushrooms, asparagus and pea shoots in risotto.
A good stock can add flavor complexity to risotto. Quiroz has made risotto with green asparagus stock. For his lobster risotto, which gets crowned with a medallion of lobster, he makes a lobster stock to cook Arborio rice.
Arborio is stubby-grained rice that is grown in the paddy fields of the Po Valley in northern Italy. It has traditionally been the most popular rice used to make risotto.
Rice option
But Cristiano Bassani, a native of Bergamo, a town in Italy some 200 miles south of the Swiss border, prefers carnaroli rice for making risotto. The starchier, longer-grained rice also hails from northern Italy. “Carnaroli is easier to work with because it’s a little bit harder and stays al dente,” Bassani said.
As chef/owner of BaPi Italian Ristorante in Arlington Heights, Bassani keeps risotto options fresh, but one variety, Porcini Mushroom Risotto, is always on the menu.
The last step in the risotto making process is known as the mantecare, which means “to blend” in Italian. Immediately after the rice is removed from the heat, an ounce of butter and 4-5 teaspoons of grated cheese is stirred rapidly into the mixture. During the mantecare, all ingredients are brought together cohesively.
The mantecare step is as flexible as the rest of the risotto making process: Quiroz opts for manchego cheese for finishing off his hedgehog mushroom risotto. Olive oil replaces cheese in seafood or fish risottos. Bassani uses extra virgin oil from Tuscany instead of cheese when making his seafood risotto. “The worst thing you can do is mix cheese and fish,” Bassani said.
Comments Click here to view or make a comment