Chicken and Mushroom Wild Rice Risotto with White Truffle Oil
Mixed Variety of Mushrooms from Whole Foods
Once home, I was faced with the question of what to cook with my new mushies. I initially planned on chopping them up really small and mixing them with ground turkey and some cheese to make mushroom burgers. Then I thought that I really wanted to showcase them in a dish because they were kind of fancy and a bit expensive. I decided on making a mushroom risotto. I have never made risotto before. I know, I am Swiss-Italian and I have never made risotto. Oh, sure I have made rice with cheese in it but I have never made actual risotto where you are slowly adding the liquid and stirring constantly.
In my pantry I only have brown rice, wild rice and long grain rice. I decided while day dreaming up the recipe in my head at work earlier that day that I would use brown rice instead of the traditional Arborio rice. When I got home I found that, no, we did not have brown rice. There I was standing with all my wonderful mushrooms and onions...and when I went to the cupboard to get my rice, no dice, no rice. I had to use the wild rice. It took me a long time, a lot of stirring, a lot of worrying, but in the end it was fantastic so I thought I would share the recipe here with you.
Wild rice
I decided to add some chicken for protein to make it a whole meal. Also, the process of adding the broth in batches and stirring the rice as it absorbs the liquid is meant to release some of the starch in the rice which gives the risotto that creamy texture. I was afraid that wild rice would not release the starch in the same way as the traditional rice would so I added little sprinklings of flour every so often to make up for it.
Chicken and Mushroom Risotto with White Truffle
1 lb Mushrooms chopped (preferably mixed varieties)
2 tbsp butter
3 chicken breasts cut into 1/2 inch pieces
Salt and pepper (if you have truffle salt, you can add that for extra flavor)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 large onion
1 1/2 cup wild rice medley
1 cup dry white wine
6 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp flour
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
fresh oregano, if desired
White truffle oil, if desired (recommended!)
1. Melt butter in large pan and add mushrooms. Cook for about 5 minutes
2. Add chicken, salt and pepper and cook until chicken is just cooked through, about 5 more minutes. Set aside
3. In a medium sauce pan heat the oil and add the onions. Cook until tender, about 3 minutes.
4. Add rice to onions and cook on medium heat until lightly toasted.
5. Add wine and stir until it is absorbed into the rice.
6. Add a half cup of the broth and lightly sprinkle with a little of the flour. Stir until absorbed.
7. Continue adding the broth a half cup at a time until the rice is tender. This may take over an hour. You may add more than the six cups or less depending on how the rice reacts. Add light dustings of flour until you can see the rice begin to look creamy.
8. Add the rice to the chicken and mushrooms and mix in the cheese.
9. Serve in bowls and top with chopped oregano and a drizzle of white truffle oil. If you do not have truffle oil you can just drizzle a good olive oil over the top.
I calculated the basic nutritional info and found that wild rice is high in calories. Not that that really matters because it has other great nutritional qualities. It was just interesting to me. Assuming this makes 4 servings (we ate the whole thing between the two of us, but for normal people it should feed 4)
Calories: 495; Fat: 17g; Fiber: 5g; Protein:39g
This may be a bit of an indulgence but it also has some really great ingredients in it. Mushrooms are a healthy source of potassium, calcium, iron and copper. Wild rice is very high in fiber and protein as well as potassium, phosphorous, antioxidants and B vitamins.
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YUM! I can't wait to try your recipe!
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Goose Valley Wild Rice
Oooo! And you have local wild rice:D I love local!
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