Creamy Cambozola Shiitake and Baby Portobello Mushroom Risotto

 

My heart is heavy and it’s the middle of November already.

These last few weeks have been pretty hard in a life way, they’ve gone quickly, and they’ve been a stressful and testing few.

I will say this, life is happening.

 

My fiance and I are in my hometown in California again and we are with my family through some big transitions. The kind of transitions that pull you towards the face of an ultimate test. Ones you knew you’d be seeing at some point or another. There’s a few of them right now.

We’re here in San Diego and I couldn’t be more grateful that D. is here taking off from some work and with me through these few weeks. I’m making my way through it all with inspirations to cook, create, be with some loves, and to be grateful for some things I’ve been extremely lucky to know in this life.

 

 

This last weekend brought the rain and the cold.

I love when it rains here, it’s always crisp and refreshing. The air is in a perfect state and it brought such a cozy start to this Sunday. We knew we wanted to stay in all day and later enjoy dinner on the deck.

And coming out of the kitchen, It had to be something slightly creamy, and something comforting. 

 

A risotto!

 

 

The light rain made for a perfect stroll through the farmer’s market in the morning and after, I picked up a bottle of wine. It was a lovely morning.

Both small and large shiitakes and baby portobello mushrooms are pan-fried with shallots, butter, a generous sprinkling of kosher salt, and de-glazed with a perfectly crisp Sauvignon Blanc. And at that moment, I think you can agree with me, that is the best air in the world.

Earth.

I couldn’t help myself from stealing pieces of this risotto’s parts and flavor from the pan. Perfectly seasoned and slightly fried mushrooms are some of life’s most prized pleasures.

 

 

A pyramid of carnaroli rice went into the sautoir, then I quickly scattered the tower of rice from side to side in the pan with a wooden spoon, letting the mixture to parch, toast, and to coat each grain of rice with the drippings of the mushrooms. The rice toasted for a minute or so and then it thickened with installments of vegetable broth and of course, that famous risotto stirring act that goes down. My favorite.

I adore this process.

And I especially adore folding in some creamy Cambozola cheese while it makes it’s last attempts of remaining in the pan…

 

 

Just a little something you don’t know, D. and I haven’t eaten meat for almost four months now, and it’s been a really nice change.

We’ve been eating a lot of fish and many varieties of vegetables and grains. We actually surprised ourselves in how it hasn’t been challenging in the least. Maybe we’re both just lucky I like to cook as much as I do. It’s just so true.

Typically D. doesn’t want to be bothered in the kitchen besides eating from it, but when he isn’t bothered, he’ll usually just make a perfectly seasoned and well-balanced salad with secrets from his mama. Italian mothers from Long Island know some things. Mama P. makes a wonderfully simple Italian style salad that’s perfect every time. We most likely get to enjoy it each time we’re visiting with his parents, it’s just their staple on the dinner table every night. I love that.

So I can always count on a good red wine vinegar and olive oil salad from my guy. They’re consistent and truly great.

 

Here I mentioned I used vegetable broth for the risotto, well, when we were eating meat I would use a low sodium chicken stock for a quick flavorful cooking liquid and would rarely use a vegetable stock, but since we haven’t been eating meat, I have to say it’s a gorgeous switch over to vegetable stock. It was beautifully amber in color and it added a great depth to the dish.

That said, as did the wine…

 

 

A nice and easy risotto can always serve as a great staple. It’s a good one to pull out in any season throughout the year or mood you’re in because you can make it as light or rich as you’d like. It requires very few ingredients and just a hint of technique.

That is all. 

There is something to be said about a great risotto that can bring the comfort you may need through the best and toughest of times in your life, and it did just that.

 

This month, I am thankful for such wonderful ingredients in this world and most importantly, to be able to share them with my family and friends.

xo,

Sarah B.

 

 

Creamy Cambozola Shiitake and Baby Portobello Mushroom Risotto

Makes 5-6 Servings

 

2 tb butter

1 tb olive oil

1 shallot, finely diced

1/2 pound baby portobello mushrooms, quartered

1/2 pound medium and large shiitake mushrooms, sliced

1 tb kosher salt, plus more if needed to adjust seasoning

3/4 cup good dry white wine

1 1/2 cup carnaroli rice, may also substitute a short grain rice such as arborio

5-6 cups low sodium vegetable stock, simmering

1/2 lemon, juiced

3 tb cambozola cheese

 

Garnish:

1/4 bunch parsley, roughly chopped, optional

1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano, grated, optional

 

In a 2 quart saucepot, bring the stock to a boil, lower the heat, and cover.

Melt the butter and add the olive oil in a heavy bottomed medium saucepan or sautoir over medium to low heat. Add the minced shallots and cook until tender and not browned, about 5minutes. Increase heat to medium and add the sliced mushrooms. Sprinkle with salt and continue to cook until mushrooms have sweat through, about 5-10 minutes. Add rice, and stir for one minute. Make sure each grain of rice is equally coated with the mixture.

De-glaze the pan by adding the white wine and stir until all the liquid is completely absorbed. Add 1 cup of the simmering stock and keep stirring until all liquid is absorbed, about 4 minutes. Add a 1/2 cup of more liquid at a time, continuing until each addition of stock is absorbed and until mixture is creamy and rice tender, about 25 minutes.

Stir in cambozola, or mild blue cheese such as gorganzola, until creamy. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper.

Transfer to serving dish or plates, add a splash of squeezed lemon juice over the top and garnish with chopped parsley and grated parmesan.