Risotto di Morchelle
A creamy morel risotto, also known as Risotto alle Spugnole (spugnole being the common name in Italian, from spugna, meaning sponge).
by Deb
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Morchella snyderi. © alexgodoy112 (CC-BY-NC) (from inaturalist.org, obs. 213470913)
Method
Clean, slice, and sauté the morels in a pan with butter or oil, until they release their liquid and brown slightly, then set aside.
In the meantime, in a heavy casserole dish, sauté the onion with the olive oil and half the butter until soft.
Add the rice and sauté for a couple more minutes.
Add the wine. Let the liquid be absorbed and then begin to add the beef broth a little at a time, stirring gently, letting the broth be absorbed before adding more.
After 10 minutes add the morels back in.
Continue cooking until the rice is ready, a bit 'al dente' (about 20 minutes since wine was added).
Remove the casserole from heat and add the rest of the butter, the Parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper to taste.
Recipe contributed:
May
1997
We found this recipe in a past issue ofThe Mycophile Quarterly, published by our parent organization, NAMA. The recipe was originally contributed to Mycophile by George Casciero of Washington, D.C.
I don't know about you, but spring brings morels, asparagus and strawberries to mind for me.
Editor's note: NAMA newsletters older than 2003 are no longer published in the Mycophile archives, so we're continuing to publish this recipe here for our members' enjoyment.
Objective:
Side or first course
Total Time:
About an hour
Yield:
6 mains or 9 sides
Suggested Mushrooms:
- Morel (Morchella sp.)
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Ingredients
1/2 Lb. fresh morels (or 1.5 oz. dried morels, reconstituted*)
1 Lb. Arborio rice
1/2 cup chopped onion
5 Tbsp. olive oil
4 oz. unsalted butter
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup Prosecco (dry Italian sparkling wine) or other dry white wine
Beef broth as needed (about 1.5 to 2 cups)*
Optionally, if you use reconstituted dried morels, reserve the liquid, strain the gritty bits out, and substitute a portion of the beef broth with the morel liquid.