Wild Mushroom "Risotto" from Eat Happy Italian
Plus Bravo Fangirling and Investing In Eat Happy Kitchen
This is a gorgeous, delicious, fall feels recipe from my new cookbook Eat Happy Italian.
But before we get to that, lemme say, the opportunity to be on Watch What Happens Live (due to my dear BIL Justin Tarquinio colluding with Andy Cohen) was a peak moment as I’ve been a Bravo superfan since pretty much day one of RHOC.
Whitney Rose and her husband Justin were delights, and listening to Loren dissect the season with Justin Rose backstage was worth the price of admission. Joy Bryant is a gorgeous force of nature, I loved her hot takes during the show, and she was so generous of spirit to let me share my book with her when we discussed the woes of gluten intolerance.
An insanely good time was had by all, and I hope I did the Bravosphere and my fellow Whispering Alenes proud for the brief moments I did my guest bartender stint.
IF YOU’RE CONSIDERING INVESTING IN EAT HAPPY KITCHEN…
Please do!!
We will grow be the food company of the future, meaning you can TRUST anything with the Eat Happy Kitchen label to have the highest quality ingredients, best taste, no sugar added, and ZERO junk, fillers, or seed oils.
You are helping us get there with your capital infusion.
This is NOT a kickstarter—you will own a piece of our company. You are invested in us succeeding, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to share the wealth with our community. After all, y’all are the ones who’ve made us the great company that we are today.
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT INVESTING. This crowd raise is hosted at the Start Engine platform. You will have to create an account with them to invest, but you do not have to join their member club to invest. That is completely optional, only if you’re the type who wants to invest in more emerging brands.
The early bird incentives expire soon, and we will gather up all the investors’ information so that we can get you your discount codes, etc soon, so be patient with us.
Now let’s make some delicious risotto using cauliflower rice instead of Arborio rice. You won’t miss the rice when you make this recipe, plus this will give you all the fall feels with the autumnal, umami mushroom flavors, and the hint of fresh parm at the end.
Here’s the downloadable, printable PDF of this recipe.
Wild Mushroom “Risotto”
Serves 2–3
This is the first of three recipes that substitute cauliflower grated into small pieces for the traditional arborio rice that goes into risotto. Because we are removing the starch of the rice from these recipes, we will use less liquid than we would with a traditional risotto. But the flavor is all there. When you master the technique of a low-carb risotto, you can add veggies, cheeses, herbs, and meats for all kinds of possibilities.
· 1 cup dried wild mushrooms
· 1 cup boiling water
· 2 tablespoons olive oil
· 1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped
· 1 cup thinly sliced cremini or baby portobello mushrooms
· Salt and pepper
· 2 cups cauliflower “rice”
· ½ teaspoon garlic powder
· ½ teaspoon onion powder
· 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
· ½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
· ½ teaspoon chopped fresh sage leaves
· ½ teaspoon chopped fresh oregano leaves
· 2 tablespoons cream cheese or crème fraîche
· ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
Put the dried mushrooms in a small bowl, add the boiling water, and set aside to soften for 20–30 minutes. Remove the mushrooms, reserving the soaking liquid, and finely chop them.
In a large, flat-bottomed nonstick sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook for 6–8 minutes, until soft and translucent. Add the chopped reconstituted mushrooms and sliced fresh mushrooms, season well with salt and pepper, and cook for 3–4 minutes, until softened.
Add the cauliflower, toss to coat, and cook for 2–3 minutes. Stir in the garlic powder, onion powder, and 1 teaspoon salt. Add the vinegar and let sizzle for 2–3 minutes. Pour in the reserved mushroom liquid and bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer. Season well with salt and pepper, stir in the thyme, sage, and oregano, and simmer for 7–9 minutes, until the cauliflower is cooked but not mushy, stirring occasionally.
Remove the pan from the heat and fold in the cream cheese and parmesan. Let stand for 3–5 minutes, then serve with additional parmesan.
**Recipe reprinted with permission from Eat Happy Italian by Anna Vocino, published by BenBella Books**