Forager’s Risotto is a modern British recipe (based on an Italian original) for a classic vegetarian risotto of wild mushrooms and butternut squash cooked with risotto rice in a mushroom stock base. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Forager’s Risotto.
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This works well with trumpet chanterelles and honey fungus but you could also use boletes or a mix of wild mushrooms. In this vegetarian recipe the meatiness of the mushrooms contrasts with the softness and sweetness of the butternut squash.
Ingredients:
100g butter
1 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, diced
4 garlic cloves
250g butternut squash, diced
250g Arborio rice
800ml–1l hot mushroom stock
400g mixed wild mushrooms
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
Method:
Combine 25g of the butter with the olive oil in a large pan over medium-low heat. Once foaming use to fry the onions and garlic for a few minutes, until just soft but not coloured.
Increase the heat then add the butternut squash. Fry for a few minutes until it starts to caramelize around the edges.
Now add the rice, stirring until the grains are all coated with butter and are beginning to look translucent.
Add a ladleful of stock and cook, stirring constantly, until it has been nearly but not completely absorbed. Continue adding the stock in this way for about 20 minutes, or until the rice is cooked.
In a separate pan melt 25g of the remaining butter and begin frying the mixed mushrooms in batches. At the end of the frying deglaze the pan with a little water and add this to the risotto.
Once the rice is cooked, melt in the remaining 50g butter. Adjust the seasonings to taste then divide the rice between four warmed serving bowls. Serve with the mushrooms spooned over the rice.
