I love making risotto for dinner parties. It is delicious and looks impressive, but in all honesty it is not difficult at all. The best part is being able to make risotto in a large batch to serve lots of people! This chanterelle risotto is a simple mushroom recipe that is packed with rich flavor. And like all of my risotto recipes, this one follows the steps laid out in my perfect risotto how-to guide so you can check that out if you want to learn more about the basics.
Whenever I see chanterelle mushrooms at the market I always buy a large basket and make a few different recipes. This time I had an entire mushroom themed dinner with friends and made chanterelle toast and a pasta to really utilize this end of summer fungus.
What You Will Need
As with all of my risotto recipes there are a few kitchen tools I suggest you have. Of course, you can make substitutions as you see fit; this is just what I recommend.
How To Make Confit Chanterelle Mushrooms
Unlike my white button version of this popular Italian rice dish, this chanterelle risotto recipe uses confit mushrooms. It sounds fancier (and looks it too) but it’s really quite a simple step. Just clean your mushrooms and add them to a pan of butter on low heat.
Continue cooking them on low to medium low heat until they look like the photo above. It is very hard to overcook mushrooms so do not worry too much about that. You want a rich brown color to really show off the natural earthiness of these trumpet shaped fungi.
When the mushrooms are perfect remove them from the pan and set aside. Do not clean the pan or scrub the small mushroom bits away – these are going into the final dish.
Making The Chanterelle Risotto
In the just used pan add a little oil and turn the heat up. Scoop in a cup of arborio (or other risotto type) rice and stir around. You want the oil to toast the dry rice a bit, while also using the rice to scrape up the little mushroom bits from the pan.
After about a minute of toasting the rice I add in half a cup of dry vermouth. I know white wine is traditionally used, but I learned this vermouth trick from a friend’s grandmother in northern Italy and find it SO much better. Then add in finely chopped shallot and stir.
After the vermouth is all but evaporated (usually less than 30 seconds) start adding the mushroom stock. I like to make a 6:1 risotto, which means six cups of stock per cup of rice. You can use store-bought stock, or your own homemade; I usually recommend the latter. Add the stock a quarter cup at a time while lazily stirring – add more stock when the previous amount has mostly evaporated or gotten absorbed.
Once all the stock has been added turn off the heat. Add in about two tablespoons of butter and stir it in as it melts. Then plate the chanterelle risotto and top with the confit chanterelles you made in the beginning. Enjoy!
Chanterelle Risotto
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- In a pan on low heat add 2 tbsp of butter and the chanterelle mushrooms. Cook them low and slow for about a half hour until they are brown and almost crispy. Remove and set aside, do not clean the pan
- Turn the heat up in the pan and add in the rice. Toast it for a minute and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any bits of mushroom stuck to the pan.
- Add in the vermouth and stir the rice around. Add in the shallot and mix. When the vermouth is almost evaporated start adding the stock.
- Add the mushroom stock 1/4 cup at a time, stirring lazily but constantly. As the stock evaporates add more so nothing burns.
- After all six cups of stock have been added turn off the heat. Add in the butter and let it melt as you stir it in. Plate the risotto and top with some of the confit chanterelles from before. Serve and enjoy!
