I absolutely love truffles!!! I was trying to decide on a theme for the cold winter months, and then a couple of weekends ago my friend Michelle went to a Farmer's Market and brought back a jar of treasured black truffles and voilà it was decided. I was filled with such joy, my heart pounding loudly against my chest as I held that jar of black truffles in my hands, my brain trying to figure out the delicious recipes I would make. Black truffles are a prized commodity as they are hard to come by and do not come cheap. Black truffles are another reason to look forward to winter as this wonderful ingredient once more appears in supermarkets, markets and grocery store. Truffles need to be preserved in an airtight container and cooked soon after they are removed from their container as they lose their wonderfully complex aroma very quickly. This week I will be sharing my recipe for Wild Rice, Mushroom and Truffle Risotto. Join me in January and February my 'Treasured Truffles' Series. Enjoy!!!
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Ingredients (serves 4)
1 cup wild (black) rice
4 ½ cups vegetable or chicken stock/broth
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ onion (½ cup), diced
1 green onion or scallion, diced
0.5lbs/8oz/227g mushrooms (enoki, cremini, oyster or chanterelles), diced
½ green bell pepper (½ cup), diced
½ red bell pepper (½ cup), diced
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon fresh or dried herbs (thyme, rosemary, sage)
¼ teaspoon allspice, ground
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Salt to taste
½ black truffle, sliced thinly
1 teaspoon truffle oil
½ cup parmesan cheese, grated
Method
Boil the rice partially covered in 4 cups of vegetable or chicken stock/broth over high heat for about 30 minutes or until all the water has evaporated, set aside
Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over low heat and fry the garlic for about 1 minute
Add the onions, green onions, mushrooms, bell peppers, bay leaves, fresh or dried herbs, allspice and black pepper, then cook uncovered for 3 minutes
Add the rice, remaining vegetable or chicken stock/broth (½ cup), salt, then cook covered over medium heat for about 5 minutes
Add the truffle and truffle oil and cook for 1 minute
Add the parmesan and cook covered for another minute or until the cheese melts
Tips: Instead of vegetable or chicken stock/broth you can use vegetable or chicken bouillon/stock cubes. For every 2 cups of stock/broth substitute with 1 bouillon/stock cube; you can use one or several varieties of mushrooms as desired for this recipe, depending on what you have available in your local grocery.
