dried mushrooms .. how to use?

[suze]

Dr S-S makes a point that certain mushrooms have direct impact on cancer cells, by stimulating the immune system .. (page 137)
so I'm keen to include them ..

but for YEARS we've not ever eaten mushrooms (B had an allergy to them .. so I stopped too)

and therefore no idea on cooking with them, esp these dried ones, which I got (organic appartently ) from the deli yesterday .. we got oyster, prorcini and shiitake ...

Hmmm ...

btw oyster are the best easily available ones for anti-cancer action

[suze]

Found this in the net :

Mushroome Risotto, soudsn promising! It's apparently to serve 4 -- would need to work out own rice ration to serve 2.

25 g packet dried porcini
small onion, finely diced
little ghee / linseed oil mix
300 g Arborio rice - tho this is high GI - wonder if it works with basmati?
100ml red wine, warmed in a pan on the stove
The water the mushrooms were soaked in, strained, and a pan of simmering stock
A bunch of parsley, finely chopped
50 g freshly grated Parmigiano

Salt and lots of black pepper to taste


Preparation:
Steep the porcini in a bowl of boiling water for fifteen minutes.

Fry the onion without browning
When it's very soft remove it to a plate with a slotted spoon and stir the rice into the drippings in the pot.
Fry the rice for several minutes, until it becomes translucent, stirring constantly

Return the onions to the pot, stir in the wine, and continue stirring until it has evaporated completely.

Then stir in a first ladle of stock
While it's absorbing, chop the mushrooms and strain the liquid they soaked in, which can contain sand.
Add the mushrooms and their liquid to the rice, then continue adding stock a ladle at a time, stirring occasionally.

About five minutes before the rice is done, check seasoning. As soon as the rice is al dente, turn off the heat, stir in a little ghee , half the cheese, ground pepper, the parsley, and cover the risotto for two minutes.

Serve with the remaining grated cheese.

UPDATE: I tried this and thought it was really good - used basmati rice and it was OK, but it cooks quicker than arborio -- so you need to make sure that the onion is well cooked b4 adding rice

[jan]

but I can't do mushrooms

lethal.

[suze]

May 26, 2010 7:35:32 GMT jan said:

but I can't do mushrooms

lethal.

Oh yeah, I remember that! ... blended to make cream of mush soup?

as if you dont have enough minority diets to deal with in your family already!

[suze]

I am making it again and adding 1/2 a bulb of fennel to the onion stage ..

In the other GI book I've got it says arborio rice is medium GI so I am going to go back to using that!

[suze]

The risotto has become a staple in our weekly plan, really addicted to it now! I also add some miso to make a richer stock and get a bit of soy in there

I noticed the other day that Morrisons have some laughably cheap dried mixed mushrooms -- this being a product that can be priced very high in some shops .. worth a look if you're counting the pennies

[suze]

Recipe with not dried mushrooms as the Tescos here gets fresh shitake ... tho remember oyster are the dream ticket

It is very much like garlic mushrooms with less oil, and incredibly quick to make, this is based on Madhur Jaffries recipe for
stir fried mushrooms

Box of fresh shitake mushrooms wiped carefully and broken into two or three pieces each
tiny amount of ghee
Two cloves of garlic, crushed
big handful of fresh parsly, roughly chopped
juice of 1/2 lemon
grinds of black pepper
pinch of chiili powder or paste

Melt ghee and add the crushed garlics (these can be removed before serving.) Allow to infues the oil for a few minutes .

Fry mushrooms for as little as possible to be cooked but not pulped

Tip in lemon juice, pepper and chili. Stir through then add parsely

Stir again until parsely just wilts

serve ..

we had it as a filling for jackets with an aubergine and red-cabbage curry on the side .. which was a lot nicer than it sounds!