I've Bean Travelling

The term à la forestière, translating to ‘of the forest’, is a French cooking style wherein the dish is characterized by hearty, earthy flavours. Typically, this features wild mushrooms sautéed in butter.

Risotto is, of course, a traditional Italian dish but variations of it are also commonly featured in French cuisine. This recipe for risotto à la forestière is the perfect fusion of Italian and French gastronomy.

Recipe

Adapted from Serious Eats.

Serves: 4 | Prep time: 10 minutes | Ready time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 1½ cups Arborio rice
• 1 quart (950 ml) low-sodium chicken stock
• 1 cup white wine
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 medium cloves garlic, grated on a microplane (about 2 teaspoons)
• 2 small shallots, finely minced (about 2 tablespoons)
• ¼ cup heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks
• 3 ounces finely grated Parmesan cheese
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 standard (8 ounce) packets of wild mushrooms (such as porcini, chanterelle, or stemmed shiitake), sliced
• Chopped thyme and chives as garnish

Steps

1) Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and melt 1 tablespoon butter into skillet. Add sliced mushrooms. Stir and cook until most of the liquid is reduced, and the mushrooms are golden brown. Transfer into bowl and keep warm in oven, along with serving plates to be used later.

2) Heat chicken stock in pot over low-medium heat. Keep simmering.

3) Heat remainder of olive oil and butter in a clean skillet over medium-high heat. Add rice. Stir and cook until golden brown and aromatic.

4) Add shallots. Stir and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until softened. Add garlic. Stir and cook until aromatic, approximately 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add wine. Stir and scrape the bottom of the skillet to deglaze. Allow most of the liquid to reduce into the rice.

5) Add chicken stock, 1 ladle at a time until reduced into the rice. Repeat until all the cooking liquid is used up. Cook time is approximately 18 to 20 minutes.

6) Take skillet off heat and transfer to a serving bowl. Add and stir in butter, parmesan cheese, and thyme.

7) Fold in the heavy cream. Stir, add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to serving plates and garnish with chives.

👨‍🍳 Notes from Mr. Chuckles

The original recipe calls for 3/4 cup of heavy cream to be folded into the rice, but we ended up sieving out most of it as it turned out way too soupy with that amount. Even a tablespoon is probably adequate to produce a rich, creamy texture.

We found mushrooms in our local grocery store labeled as Forestière, but it was not until I did some reading at home that I realized these are probably branded rather than an actual species of mushroom. If there are any mushroom aficionados out there with differing information, let me know! Otherwise, we have used oyster, morel, and portobello mushrooms for this recipe in the past with similarly delicious results.

Enjoy!