It's all about friends, right? I have friends who hunt mushrooms. It's chanterelle season now. A baggie of them was left at my desk at work yesterday. Boo. Yah. Chanterelles are one of my favorite spring/summer delights! Rich and woodsy, these seasonal wild mushrooms are best used in ways that highlight them. I still have risotto fever from when I made this green garlic risotto (and some aborio rice that I can't let go to waste). So I made this in an attempt to accentuate the very special mushrooms a friend had given me.
But I just posted a springtime risotto! How could I funk this up? I don't want to be redundant, you know? Savory whipped cream came to mind. I am not much of a baker, so I don't even make traditional sweet whipped cream very much. But once the idea got in my head, I had to try it. I thought of soaking wood chips in the cream for a woody flavor to go with the chanterelles... an idea gacked from Chef Gerard Craft at St. Louis' Niche restaurant (he made a wood-infused ice cream). But it's Tuesday. No time for that. Liquid smoke. Don't judge me... this was perfect!
A super-rich meal... but the smokiness and the chanterelles and the spicy sausage made it a fantastic summer dinner. Not diet food, for sure, but so rich you don't need much to feel satisfied. This will easily serve 4 hungry adults.
Chanterelle Andouille Risotto with Smoky Whipped Cream-2 smoked andouille sausages (1/2 lb.), chopped-1 1/2 cups chanterelle mushrooms, cleaned and roughly copped-olive oil (approx. 3 Tablespoons, divided)-1 Tablespoon butter-2 large garlic cloves, roughly minced-2 small shallots, chopped-3-4 cups chicken or vegetable stock-1 cup Aborio rice-1 teaspoon Smoked paprika-1/2 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese-salt and pepper to taste-1/2 pint heavy whipping cream-1 teaspoon liquid smoke-saltCook half of the sausage with 1 Tablespoon of olive oil until it starts to brown. Add mushrooms and cook briefly, about 1 minute until the mushrooms just start to release their water. Reserve sausage mushroom mixture to a plate (add any drippings to your stock that you are going to use for the risotto). Put the rest of the andouille in the pan and cook until starting to brown. set aside with the mushroom mixture.Meanwhile, add paprika to stock and heat gently on the stove in a separate pot.Add 2 Tablespoons of olive oil, 1 Tablespoon of butter to the pan you cooked the sausage in. Add garlic and shallots and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the rice and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring.Add 1 cup of the stock and stir, cooking and stirring until all the liquid is absorbed by the rice. Continue adding the stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring all the while, to rice, each time letting the liquid get absorbed before adding more. Once the rice is cooked to al dente, turn off heat. Add cheese, sausage and mushrooms and stir to combine. Taste and season. Serve with smoky whipped cream and a sprinkle of smoked paprika.For Smoky whipped cream: Whip heavy cream with a whisk in a bowl until soft peaks form. Fold in liquid smoke and a pinch of salt.
2 comments:
I want this in my mouth, and I am not even a fan of mushrooms.
This looks and sounds amazing! I thought I worked at a great place where I have a beer fridge in office and food shows up all the time but never chanterelles!
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