Ooey, Gooey, Yet Somewhat Chewy, Mushroom Risotto

by Steve, Sydney (Australia)

This dish was brought to life in the year 1683 when the fussy King Solomon demanded his chef create “a healthy serving of poetry in a bowl”.
The chef was beheaded, and the dish initially considered a failure.But since, it was resurrected due to the high praise from Julia Child’s horticultural technician – who ironically claimed: “it’s a lovely limmerick of flavours”.
Though King’s Solomons chef may have included one ryhme too many, he did manage to create a dish of that is unquestionalbly ooey, gooey, yet somewhat chewy.

It’s rich creamy flavour, combined with fresh ingredients of mushroom, chicken, asparagus, parmesan, and pine nuts makes for a nice hearty autumn dish.

Serve with a nice glass Chablis and crusty bread, snuggled up close to the fire with your lover and/or cat. Follow this up with crême brulée and you will hear ‘purrrrrr’s” all around.

• Servings: 6
• Preparation times:
  • Active: 30 minutes
  • Cooking: 45 minutes
• Ingredients:
  • 500g of arborio rice
  • 1 medium onion
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 500g of sliced mushrooms
  • 20 spears of baby asparagus
  • half a bunch of celery
  • 1 large chicken breast (thinly sliced)
  • 400ml of white wine
  • 6 cups of chicken stock
  • 50g of pine nuts (toasted)
  • 80g parmesan cheese (grated)
  • parsley for garnish
  • sliced kalamata olives for garnish
  • 4 tablesppons of extra virgin olive oil
  • salt, pepper
• Steps:
  1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot, on medium heat.
  2. Add chopped garlic.
  3. Chop celery and onion, fine.
  4. Add to oil and cook for 10 minutes until becomes translucent.
  5. Raise heat, add rice and cook for 2 minutes until rice becomes translucent.
  6. Add the wine and stir until fully absorbed, then lower heat to medium.
  7. Add 5 cups of the chicken stock, 1 cup at a time, until each is absorbed, stir frequently.
  8. In a seperate pan, cook mushrooms and asparagus; then set aside.
  9. In a seperate pan, cook the chicken; then set aside.
  10. Add chicken, pine nuts, asparagus, and mushroom to rice pot along with the 6th cup of stock.
  11. Stir frequently till liquid is absorbed.
  12. Add parmesan cheese to top, cover and let sit for 5 minutes.
  13. Serve in poetry bowls and garnish wish parsley and olives.
• Notes:
  • The more parmesan, the more ooey, gooey it becomes.
  • Olives are optional, but they do add a nice richness.
  • For a Canadian twist, cook with minute-rissotto, adding a can of cream of mushroom soup, grated cheddar cheese (Cheez Whiz optional) and microwave on high for 10 minutes. Add Frank’s Red Hot to taste. Serve with Labbatt’s Blue.

Fried cheese?! Introducing the Camembert poêlé

by Nancy, Paris (France)

Everyone in France knows that Normandie is the home of fabulously fragrant soft cheeses. The most famous of them are the Brie and its cousin, the Camembert. On a trip there, we noticed a very popular dish, served at almost every restaurant although it is virtually unknown in other parts of France. It’s called “Camembert Poêlé” or fried Camembert. I had no idea that any cheese, and the least being Camembert, could go in a frying pan with the approval of French restaurants! So we tried it and it wasn’t bad at all.

Back to Paris, I tried recreating what we had tasted. The result was quite satisfying.

• Servings: 4
• Preparation times:
  • Active: 20 minutes
• Ingredients:
  • salad, as desired
  • nuts, pecans or walnuts
  • breadcrumbs
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 Camembert
  • 2 tablespoon of butter
• Steps:
  1. Cut the Camembert in 4 slices.
  2. Dip each slice in the beatten egg and then in the breadcrumbs.
  3. Heat butter in a frying pan over medium heat.
  4. Add the Camembert and let it fry on each side till it gets a golden color.
  5. Remove the Camembert from the pan into serving plates.
  6. Insert the nuts in the Camembert while the cheese is still melted.
• Notes:
  • This is a relatively easy meal good any time of the year. A nice green salad goes well with this meal.