I should not even be sharing this recipe with you. It is one of my greatest hits. But, we are good friends, so this is my gift to you. Trust me, there’s gonna be ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs.’
I love this pasta for dinner parties. It is a super side dish, and a really great main for the vegetarians. It’s like risotto, but not as fussy, and allows you to give attention to other parts of the meal too. It’s stellar as a lunch, with a salad and a glass of pinot, as well as a side for beef. You can mix it up a bit with some of the ingredients too, depending on what you have on hand.
The secret to most of my mushroom-focused recipes is the use dried mushrooms. You reconstitute them in boiling water, careful to clean any grit off them, then strain the flavor-infused water through a sieve-lined with paper towel or cheese cloth to catch any dirt and into another vessel. This mushroom water will be used to cook the orzo. So extra!
I make this in a big oven-proof pot, because sometimes I want to do the optional last step of melting extra cheese over the top – but that is up to you. This is also a recipe which requires you to taste often while cooking, in order to get the depth of flavor and balance just right. Feel free to tinker with it. Add more cheese, salt with some truffle salt. You can also use parmesan – just omit the thyme.
Recipe
Wild Mushroom Orzo – Risotto Style
Serves 4 as a main dishINGREDIENTS
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup yellow onion, shallots, or leeks, chopped small
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- A few sprigs of fresh thyme (about 2 tsp of leaves or ½ teaspoon dried)
- 12 oz assorted mushrooms: white, crimini, trumpet, etc, chopped medium
- 1 oz dried mushrooms. I use a gourmet assortment with porcini, shiitake, portobello, and morel in it. Porcini is my favorite, if I had to pick just one.
- 1 cup boiling water
- 2 cups orzo pasta
- 3 cups broth (vegetable, chicken or beef) heated in a pan on the stove
- ½ cup dry sherry or dry white wine
- 1 cup (more if desired) grated gruyere cheese
- ½ cup heavy cream (optional, if you’re feeling a little decadent)
- salt and pepper
- minced parsley, chives or green onions finely chopped for garnish
- truffle oil (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat Oven to 400.
- In a bowl, pour boiling water over dried mushrooms and let sit for 20 minutes until mushrooms are reconstituted. Then, gently lift mushrooms out of water and chop into smaller pieces. Set aside. Strain the mushroom liquid into another bowl though a paper towel-lined strainer to separate the juice from the grit. Set mushroom liquid aside.
- In a pot, heat your stock (beef, chicken or veggie) and keep warm on a low simmer.
- Melt the butter and oil in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Add onions (or shallots, or leeks) and soften a bit (but not brown) 3-5 minutes.
- Add fresh mushrooms and a ½ tsp salt, sauté another 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and reconstituted mushrooms, cook 1 minute more.
- Add orzo to pan and stir for 1-2 minutes until coloring a bit brown. Pour sherry or wine and mushroom liquid and reduce to ½, about 4 minutes. Add thyme to the pan.
- Add 2 cups of broth, bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Cook, stirring often and adding the rest of the stock as needed (you may not need it all) as the orzo cooks down, 8-10 minutes, or until orzo is al dente. Firm yet done. Creamy and saucy.
- At this point, you can mix in cream, simmer for a few minutes and stir until reduced and incorporated. Or, you can jump right to the next step: stir in ½ cup cheese. It should be creamy. You can add more. It’s your pasta, make it as you like! Taste it. How do you want it? A little more cheese? Do it.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Now, you’re ready to serve. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top, drizzled with a bit of truffle oil and herbs, or top with cheese and stick the pan in oven until cheese is melty and brown. Then, garnish with truffle oil and herbs.
Magic of Mushrooms
I LOVE them! Such a versatile ingredient. Full of umami – meaty even. A deep earthy flavor. I am pretty sure they are going to find out all kinds of amazing attributes of mushrooms in the future. Low in fat, full of fiber. They are full of good, healthy stuff: B vitamins, vitamin C, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, selenium, vitamin D, and antioxidants. Some studies have shown that mushrooms could suppress growth of breast cancer and prostate cancer cells in cell cultures and in animals.
The variety of mushrooms is wide and each has its own flavor profile. White, brown cremini, portobello, shiitake, oyster, Maitake, truffle, hen of the woods, trumpet, wood ear, enoki, morel, porcini, and chanterelles – just to name a few.
When choosing your mushrooms, make sure they feel firm, aren’t moist to the touch, and are mold-free. They can be stored in a paper bag in the fridge for about five days. Mushrooms are super absorbent, so you don’t want to soak them in water. To clean, instead brush off the dirt and rinse them lightly when you’re ready to use them. For stubborn dirt, I will wet a paper towel to rub them clean.