Autumn; the days are shorter and cooler, there’s a dampness to the cold night air…and the beautiful Saffron Milk Cap Mushrooms sprout beneath the pine trees in the forests around Fethiye. Time to make mushroom risotto!
As you are no doubt aware by now, we enjoy our Turkish seasonal produce and the different mushroom seasons are ones we particularly look forward to.
Perhaps it’s because the seasons are really short so we feel the need to dive straight in there and snap up as many as we can.
We’ve certainly discovered various mushroom flavours and textures since moving to Turkey.
And, with some types, a mushroom risotto is a perfect way to appreciate them!
Spinach & Mushroom Risotto Ingredients
This spinach and mushroom risotto recipe is our way of adding a bit of variation to our mushroom explorations.
After making a spinach and cheese börek recipe recently, we still had some spinach left over, so Barry decided to produce this spinach and mushroom risotto recipe.
Oozy & Comforting
Risotto is perfect any time of year; oozy and comforting; seasonal mushrooms fit the dish perfectly.
Spinach is a perfect partner to mushroom.
And, when you have removed your spinach stems, you can also get another meal from those, too. Try these healthy spinach stem salads.
The traditional rice for making risotto is Arborio rice. You can buy it from supermarkets in Fethiye.
But it’s expensive compared to local rice. And, to be honest, Turkish rice is just as starchy.
Starchy rice is risottos’ essential ingredient because that’s where your oozy texture comes from.
We always use Turkish rice and the results are perfectly good!
Many people are put off making risotto because you have to stand over it and tend to it constantly.
But, it’s not difficult. And it’s worth a little attention just for the final results.
We love risotto!
Serving Up
When ready, you can serve and enjoy your seasonal spinach and mushroom risotto. The meaty texture and warm autumnal orange of the çıntar mushrooms; the vibrant green of the spinach.
Don’t worry if you make too much. We have a very tasty tip in the event of that happening…
The addition of a drizzle of olive oil and the chilli flakes is entirely optional. But they really do complete the mushroom and risotto picture.
How can you not be tempted?
Tasty Tip
And we did say we had a tasty tip in the event of you having risotto leftovers? To be honest, we make too much on purpose. That means we can make another favourite dish, arancini, the day after.
So, a few simple ingredients have given us two different rice dishes and, using the discarded spinach stems, some healthy salad ideas. A great way to get the most out of your culinary efforts.
(We love Italian food and we certainly weren’t disappointed with our foodie treats when we visited Italy. As you might expect, lots of Mediterranean Turkish ingredients lend themselves well to Italian recipes so we can experiment at home.)
Spinach & Seasonal Mushroom Risotto Recipe
This recipe for spinach and mushroom risotto makes two decent-sized portions.
Spinach & Seasonal Mushroom Risotto Recipe
Ingredients
- 200 grams arborio rice (or Turkish Baldo rice)
- 150 grams seasonal mushrooms (cleaned & roughly chopped)
- 1 onion (peeled & finely chopped)
- 2 handfuls spinach leaves (washed & roughly chopped)
- 1 clove garlic (peeled & finely chopped)
- 1 tablespoon parmesan cheese (finely grated)
- 40 grams butter
- 1.5 litres stock (chicken or vegetable)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (to serve – optional)
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes (to serve – optional)
Instructions
- First of all, in a large saucepan, bring your stock to the boil and then leave to simmer on a low heat.
- In a separate saucepan, melt half the butter over a medium heat and add the onion.
- Fry your onion gently for a couple of minutes until it starts to sweat.
- Now add your garlic and continue to cook for 2 more minutes.
- Once the onion has started to soften, add your rice to the pan along with a pinch of salt and stir to coat the grains in the onion and butter mix.
- Now add your mushrooms, mix with the rice and gently stir for a minute.
- Take a ladleful of stock, add it to the mushrooms and rice and stir gently with a wooden spoon until the liquid has almost evaporated.
- Now take another ladleful of stock and repeat the process, stirring gently until the liquid evaporates.
- Continue to add stock, one ladleful at a time, and stirring until it almost evaporates.
- Keep doing a taste test and when your rice is al dente and you have an oozy sauce, your risotto is cooked.
- Remove the risotto from the heat, add the other half of the butter and your parmesan cheese then stir into the rice.
- Now add your spinach leaves, place a lid on the pan and leave to stand for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, remove the lid, stir in the wilted spinach and serve.
- If you like, add a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle with chilli flakes before eating.
Notes
- Risotto is traditionally made with starchy Italian Arborio rice. In Turkey, the rice is starchy so we use Baldo pirinç.
- We used local, seasonal Saffron Milk Cap (Çıntar) mushrooms for our spinach and mushroom risotto. You can use your favourite mushroom.
- Make sure your mushrooms are cut into good bite-sized chunks as these make up the bulk of your risotto filling.
- If you want to add some extra flavour to your spinach and mushroom risotto, your first ladleful of liquid can be a splash of vermouth or white wine rather than stock.
- Calories in this spinach and mushroom risotto recipe are per serving and are a rough guide.
Turkey's For Life
Friday 12th of December 2014
Thanks for that Claire. We're always on the lookout for other recipes we can use to make the most of our çintar mushrooms. We've added a few more to the blog since this one but will look at this site, too. :)
Turkey's For Life
Monday 13th of December 2010
We're not vegetarian but we eat much more veggie food since we came to Turkey. Meat is really expensive - and these mushrooms are just as good as any meat! :)
Caz Makepeace
Monday 13th of December 2010
Delicious! I love risotto and I'm vegetarian so this sounds right up my alley. Thanks for sharing
Turkey's For Life
Friday 10th of December 2010
Nancie and Ayngelina: If you're ever in Turkey, you know where to come! :)
Ayngelina
Friday 10th of December 2010
Looks delicious, I love mushroom rissoto