Recipes

Risotto

Ingredients

1 jar Umami stock (mushroom/vegetable stock) + water as necessary (heated)

1 cup risotto rice*

1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano (or more as desired)

1 cup wine (red or white)

1/4 cup chopped shallots or leeks

1/4 cup butter (3 Tbsps)

3 tablespoons olive oil

Optional ingredients

small bite-size pieces: shiitake; oyster mushrooms; king oyster; shiimeji; peas; squash; zucchini; kale; nettles; spinach, rapini; broccoli or cauliflower florets, radicchio, arugula, etc.

Preparation

Have the stock heating in a pot on the stove and have a ladle handy. In another pot (a thick-bottom pot; perhaps on the burner in front of the one with the stock) sauté shallots and/or leeks in olive oil + 1 Tbsp butter until tender (just a couple of minutes).  Add rice to the cooked shallots/leeks and stir until coated.  Add wine and stir on medium to high heat until almost evaporated.  Immediately begin adding hot stock, incrementally (approx  ½ to 1 cup each time).  Stir continually after each addition of stock so that each ladle-full evaporates before adding the next one. When rice is almost al dente, or to suit, add the optional ingredients and the final ladle-full of stock. When the last ladle of stock is almost evaporated, add the rest of the butter and the grated Parmigiano; stir to incorporate. Serve immediately!

*  Risotto rice is a high-starch rice such as Arborio, Canarole or Vialone nano; the high starch content creates the smooth creaminess that makes risotto so delicious. However, you can use other rice including brown rice, black “Forbidden” venere rice**, red Bhutanese rice, ‘wild’ red Italian rice, etc. These whole grain rices have a superior nutritional profile compared to traditional white rice varieties and make delicious risottos.  However, they will require soaking and/or partial cooking prior to starting the risotto. They can be soaked for several hours or even overnight; discard the soak water. The rice can also be cooked after soaking, or instead of soaking. When cooking use a bit less than the recommended quantity of water or stock (for the particular rice you are using) so that the rice is not completely cooked nor saturated with liquid. A stainless steel rice cooker works very well. Then begin making the risotto with the partially cooked rice and proceed as above. These rices create delicious risottos with wholesome nutty rich flavours and great texture; they also contain more fiber, minerals, and phyto-nutrients than white rice including iron, selenium, zinc, manganese, and Calcium as well as anthocyanins which are powerful anti-oxidants (dark purple & blue plant pigments are anthocyanins; these are the same pigments that give blueberries their high anti-oxidant content).

** Black Venere or “Forbidden” rice is an heirloom variety – open pollinated and grown at earlier times in history; not grown industrially.  For more information about Black “Forbidden” Venere rice and recipes see:

http://www.crespiriso.com/venere_e.html

http://www.ritrovo.com/blog/?p=267

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=363662187130

http://www.lotusfoods.com/Organic-Forbidden-Rice/p/LOT-10260&c=LotusFoods@WholeGrain

http://www.middleburycoop.com/pdf/newsletter/newsletter_09-09.pdf  How to cook and recipes

http://www.lotusfoods.com/Forbidden-Rice-Salad-Recipe/rr/100345&ret

http://www.flavorandfortune.com/dataaccess/article.php?ID=475 Species description & recipes

http://www.practicallyedible.com/edible.nsf/pages/blackforbiddenrice

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/food-health/slow-cooker-curried-vegatables Recipes

http://www.lotusfoods.com/Forbidden-Black-Rice-Salad-Recipe/rr/100685&ret

Roasted/Baked Oyster Mushrooms

Ingredients

Oyster mushrooms separated into individual ‘caps’ (in order to control cooking)
Olive oil – use sparingly: 1Tbsp should be enough for ¼ to 1/3 lb
Garlic – crushed or chopped, to taste

Preparation

  1. Add crushed garlic to oil
  2. Drizzle olive oil/garlic onto mushrooms. Don’t worry about full coverage
  3. In a roasting pan or tray bake the mushrooms @ 350F for 30 minutes, turning them once at 15 minutes.  They should be slightly browned along the edges – carmelized – for full flavour
  4. For small mushrooms or clumps adjust the roasting time

Serve alone as a side dish or serve on top of salad greens such as arugula or radicchio or serve with steamed greens

Miso Soup Recipe

Ingredients

1 jar Umami Shiitake stock

1/4 cup Tradition miso

Optional ingredients

seaweed

tofu

mushrooms such as enoki, shiitake, shiimeji, maitake

green onions

cooked buckwheat  noodles

spinach & other greens

(amounts of above to suit)

Preparation

  1. Heat stock
  2. Add optional ingredients that require some cooking
  3. Remove from heat
  4. Whisk in the Miso*
  5. Add final optional ingredients

Serve immediately!

*  To whisk in the miso without forming lumps remove a small amount of the liquid from the soup into a bowl and allow to cool slightly; whisk the miso into this smaller portion and then add it back into the soup pot, stirring gently to incorporate.