Creamy Italian Rice with Mushrooms: Mushroom Risotto

While risotto is a dish known throughout much of the world, its home is northern Italy. Risotto is known for its creamy texture and it is most commonly made with Arborio rice, a type of short-grain rice from the northern Italian region of Piemonte (Piedmont), the capital of which is Torino (Turin). The rice got its name from the town of Arborio in Piemonte. Now that I've told you all of that, forget it, because I made the risotto for this blog with Carnaroli rice, which is also grown in the Piemonte region, as well as in the neighboring region of Lombardia (Lombardy), the capital of which is the famous city of Milano (Milan). Carnaroli was name after a professor at the University of Milan, who was a geneticist.

 

Generally speaking, many types of rice are not terribly expensive, so we're starting from a relatively low price base, but Carnaroli rice is more expensive than many other types of rice. It is also not as easily found outside of Italy; and by that I mean, you are not likely to walk into your corner grocery store and find Carnaroli rice; unless perhaps, you live in Italy or you live in a neighborhood with a number of Italian families. I'm not an expert on rice production, but Carnaroli rice is primarily grown in the north of Italy. Perspective here on the price: we're not talking about needing an armored security vehicle to go buy Carnaroli rice, but it's more like 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 times what you would pay for regular white rice, with some price variations by brand name. So, if you pay a couple of dollars for regular white rice, you'll likely pay about six dollars for Carnaroli (I paid $5.75).   

 

Ingredients (about 4 to 6 servings): 

1 cup carnaroli rice (or arborio) 

3 tablespoons butter (divided use)

5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (divided use)

4 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock)

1/2 cup white wine

1/4 cup minced onion (white or yellow)

8 to 10 mushrooms, sliced (baby bella mushrooms, also known as cremini)

2 teaspoons minced garlic

2/3 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or Pecorino Romano)

salt (remember, the stock likely has salt, as does the cheese, so be careful), so to taste 

Heat 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil over low heat; add the sliced mushrooms; cook over low heat for about 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally (it may initially look like a lot of mushrooms, but they will cook down). Now, heat 1 tablespoon butter and 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a skillet or wide pan over low heat, then add the finely chopped onion. Saute for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the onion from burning, then add the minced garlic and saute a further 2 minutes, stirring occasionally (you don't want the garlic to burn, as it will then have a bitter taste). Add the wine and let it heat up, then add the rice and stir it around in the onion/garlic/wine mixture until the rice begins to show some dryness, then add 1/2 cup stock and stir it into the rice. Stir it constantly (it doesn't have to be at a feverish pace, but steadily) until more stock is required, then add another 1/2 cup, and repeat the process, then continue adding 1/2 cup stock and stirring until all of the stock is used and the rice is creamy, but it's about to get creamier with the addition of the 1/2 cup of heavy cream (and more stirring), then add 2 tablespoons butter and the grated cheese, and guess what ... more stirring and you're done.     

WORD HISTORY:

Fervor (British English spelling: Fervour)-This word is related to "braise," a word borrowed from French, which had it from Germanic, to "brew," "burn" (the fire-related verb and noun) and "broth," all words from the Germanic roots of English, and to "ferment," a Latin-derived word "likely" borrowed more from French, but with Latin influence and reinforcement. "Fervor" goes back to Indo European "bhreuh," meaning "to boil;" thus also, "to seethe, to cook, to bubble." This gave Latin "fervere" meaning "to boil, to be or become extremely hot;" thus also figuratively, "extremely agitated," with the beginning of the Indo European form rendered in Italic and its Latin offspring as "f." "Fervere" produced the Latin noun "fervor" meaning "an intense heating, a robust boil;" thus also figuratively, "passion, rage, extreme emotion, ardor." This passed into Old French as "fervor" (or fervour/fervur? Or these may have been Anglo-Norman spellings?), with the same meanings as Latin, and English borrowed the word in the mid 1300s as "fervour." In modern English the word is most often applied to "the emotional state of passion or commitment to some cause or belief."