Making the transition from recipe to creation is both liberating and a bit intimidating. I’ve always considered myself a “creative cook,” but what that practically means is that I like to fuse together different recipes and tweak the ingredients if something else sounds better or if the ingredients are so obscure or expensive that it’s jut not worth going to the trouble.
But to go completely off the grid and construct a meal from principles of cooking rather than a list of ingredients (and it actually be good!) is one of my life’s aspirations. This, of course, requires a decent working knowledge of technique and a sense of how ingredients work together, both acquired skills. That’s where my new favorite foodie book, Culinary Intelligence: The Art of Eating Healthy (and Really Well)
Here’s the catch. it’s Friday night and that means pizza for family dinner before a movie or board game or maybe a little Mario Cart competition. I love pizza (who doesn’t!?) but don’t love the effect that it has on my body, so I had something a little more meatless and processed flour-less in mind. And since I have to sit across from the table smelling it and watching my children gorge themselves on cheese, tomato sauce and pepperoni with a butter crust, my alternative better be something that can compete flavor a flavor.
I have to admit that I hedged my bet a little by going with a risotto, which is a pretty forgiving route to creative cooking and substantial enough so that as long as it was good I’d be satisfied and not creep back into the kitchen for a leftover slice of pepperoni pizza. Taking a cue from Peter Kaminski, I mused about what I was in the mood for: the earthy richness of portabella mushrooms, leeks because in addition to being delicious I love to be able to say that I’m sautéing some leeks, something to add a little kick say, chiplote peppers and cilantro for it’s awesomely aromatic and bright flavor and rich green some color.
The result was a completely original Spicy Mushroom Risotto that held up pretty well against Domino’s! The recipe below is what I used to serve 2 (we both had seconds & polished it off), so I guess you could consider it 4 servings. Also, I intended to have poblano peppers, but since Publix was completely out, I got chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (from a can) instead. It wasn’t exactly what I had in mind, but the smokey flavor of the adobo added a nice complexity to the dish,
- 2 Portabella mushrooms, gills removed & sliced
- Red pepper flakes
- Olive oil
- 1 Leek, chopped
- 2 Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped & seeded
- Arborio rice (1 C)
- Salt & Pepper
- 1 clove Garlic, minced
- Generous 1/4 C white wine
- 3 C chicken broth
- Lime juice (1-2 limes)
- Cilantro 1/4 cup chopped
While heating about 3 tbs of olive oil & a dash of red pepper flakes in a dutch oven, I removed the gills from the portabellas with a spoon. Once the oil was hot I sauteed them to infuse the heat until cooked through – just a few minutes – then set aside on a plate. I’d intended to try and brown them, but that didn’t work out so well. Not that they were bad (they were quite delicious), they just didn’t brown very well. Instead they quickly soaked up the oil, but then released it back into to pot after cooking for a couple minutes. That was kind of cool to watch.
Cooking the risotto is pretty easy, but you have to stick with it since you must add the stock to it a little at a time. Saute the arborio rice, chopped & seeded chipotles and the chopped leek in the oil over medium-high heat (feel free to add a little more oil if you need) until the leek is soft. Next add the garlic and cook for another couple minutes.
Add the white wine and cook until the liquid is pretty much absorbed. Reduce heat to medium low. and add 1 cup of the chicken broth and cook until the liquid is absorbed and the risotto starts to become creamy. Continue to add chickenstock 1/2 to 1 cup at a time and cook until the rice is al denté. This should take approx 25 minutes or so.
After the risotto has been cooking for 15-20 minutes, add the mushrooms and the lime juice. After the risotto is ready, mix in the cliantro. Serve warm.
The taste of this risotto dish is bold and smokey with a lingering heat that’s just right assuming you don’t overdo it with the red pepper flakes or chipotles. The cilantro and lime juice lend a brightness that I thought balanced out the earthiness and complimented the peppers. The texture is hearty and satisfying and stood on it’s own against the pepperoni pizza’s the children were eating. I paired with a glass of sparking lime La Croix and a cabernet (since that’s all I had), but I think something more smooth, such as a pinot noir or merlot might be a better compliment to the rich flavor.
If you try this dish out, or some variation of it, I’d live to hear what you think. Have fun and eat well!