This Wild Mushroom and Tarragon Risotto is a lightened-up version of the comforting Italian dish. It calls for wild mushrooms instead of heaps of cream, butter, and cheese. The dried mushrooms add a gourmet touch without extra weight for your holiday packing or your waistline. (If you want to travel extra light, use dried herbs instead of fresh!) Whichever mushrooms and herbs you use, the trick to exceptional risotto is to stir slowly and continuously after each addition of broth, which helps release the starch and gives the dish its creamy texture, with or without cheese.
Broth pointers
Homemade vegetable or chicken broth is best since the broth is one of the strongest flavors in this dish, but you can also use store-bought vegetable broth or quality bouillon cubes or powder. The soaking liquid of the dried mushrooms is essentially a quick mushroom broth, which reduces the amount of additional broth required.
- 3 oz dried chanterelles, morels, or other wild mushrooms
- 6 cups broth, gluten and dairy free if desired
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- salt, to taste
- 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 shallot or small onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 1/2 cups risotto rice, such as arborio, carnaroli, or vialone nano
- 1/4 cup white wine, dry vermouth, or additional broth
- 2 tbsp minced fresh chives or 2 tsp drived chives
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh tarragon leaves or 1 tbsp dried
- 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or other aged, firm cheese optional
- Sauteed fresh mushrooms optional
- In medium heatproof bowl, pour 4 cups boiling water over dried mushrooms. Cover and let stand at room temperature for at least 20 minutes.
- In medium pot, heat broth to just below a simmer. Into pot of broth, strain mushroom soaking liquid through sieve lined with cheesecloth. Reserve drained mushrooms. Add pepper to broth, then salt to taste. The broth should be fairly salty, since the rice will absorb much of the salinity, but if using commercial broth, check the amount of sodium it contains before adding more––you may not need any at all. Cover and keep warm.
- In heavy-bottomed skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add diced shallot or onion and cook for 4 minutes, until softened. Add rice and stir to coat for 1 minute. Add wine or vermouth and drained soaked mushrooms. Stir for 30 seconds to deglaze pot.
- Add 2 ladles of warm stock to rice and stir until absorbed. Add half the chives and tarragon (if using dried herbs, add all the chives and tarragon) and continue adding a ladleful of broth at a time until rice is al dente, about 20 minutes, stirring slowly but continuously after each addition until broth is almost absorbed before adding more. Taste and add salt, if necessary. If rice isn’t tender after 20 minutes, increase heat slightly. If you’re running out of broth, the heat is too high. But don’t worry; you can add a little extra water or wine to stretch the remaining broth if needed.
- Top with remaining fresh chives and tarragon (if using) and optional Parmigiano-Reggiano and sautéed fresh mushrooms.
Per serving (without cheese): 257 calories; 5 g protein; 2 g total fat (0 g sat. fat); 54 g total carbohydrates (2 g sugars, 3 g fiber); 145 mg sodium
