Porcini, Blinis and a sprinkling of celebration!

Well it might be a slightly unusual request but I do like to be different and so as my birthday swung around once more I decided that cooking for the family, who would hopefully be supplying presents, would be a particularly enjoyable end to a joyful day.  Of course the offer of food brimmed with  anticipation as my family appear to have caught on to that fact that I am in the process of honing my enthusiastic, if not always successful, culinary skills, and so a feast of tantalising treats needed to be the order of the day.  However, it obviously couldn't prove to be a too time consuming exercise as it is nice to spend some time with those who come to visit.  Sooo looking for food that it is speedy and impressive and preferably something that I have previously attempted... Aha, I thought - risotto is my most triumphant and tested dish, but let's knock it up a notch and put posh mushrooms in!  And then how about some snappy little smoked salmon appetisers together to get things startered (ba dum bum chhhh).  Bob's your uncle... Well he's mine actually!

The platter...

I concocted three creme fraiche toppings for the blinis: Chilli and lime, Lemon and dill and a simple twist of black pepper and chive.  Each little blini was then finished with a few ribbons of smoked salmon and then a garnish of dill or chive for the herby ones.

Now on to the mains...

Three mushroom risotto with wild garlic pesto and crumbly cheese (serves 5)


1 red onion, finely chopped
2 celery sticks, finely chopped
2 cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
A pack of Arborio rice (risotto rice) 1 handful per person, with a smidge extra for luck
2 Packets of ready made vegetable stock
1 pack of dried Porcini mushrooms, rehydrated (follow packet instructions, and reserve some of the water used for rehydration to add to the stock)
100g Portobello mushrooms, peeled and finely diced
5 or 6 large Chestnut mushrooms, thinly sliced
A large glass of white wine or prosecco
Olive oil, for cooking
A generous knob of butter
A handful of Wensleydale or a cheese of your preference for crumbling over 
Wild garlic pesto, for drizzling over
A handful of chopped parsley
Salt and Pepper for seasoning

Sweating down the veg...

1) Firstly in a separate pan, pour in the vegetable stock and about 200ml of the mushroom soaking liquid in to this pan. Put it on the heat and keep this stock mix at a rolling boil.  You will need this later.  2) Add a good lug of olive oil to a heavy bottomed saucepan and get it on a medium heat.  When the oil has warmed up add the celery onion and garlic and sweat these down for at least 5 minutes.  They should become slightly translucent and soft but shouldn't pick up any colour. Then add the porcini, chestnut and portobello mushrooms and fry them off too until the darken and soften.
3) At this stage add the rice and keep stirring so it doesn't burn, each grain should be coated in the oil.  After about 2 minutes the should start to look slightly translucent too, now add the wine.  If you're doing it right the pan should hiss a little as the alcohol hits the dry heat from the pan.  Now keep the risotto moving, stirring and massaging the rice releases the starch from the grains and this is what creates the delightful oozy risotto texture.
4) When the alcohol has cooked away (the harsh smell should fade) after couple of minutes lower the heat a little and add the first ladle of stock, stirring all the time. As each ladle of stock is absorbed add another, it is important to add the stock slowly and to keep stirring so that the starch is released as the rice cooks and that you keep the risotto moving so it doesn't catch on the bottom of the pan and burn.  This process with take about 20 minutes.  Taste a little rice after about 15 minutes though, this will help you gauge whether it needs more or less time.
5) When the rice is soft but still holds its shape and a little bite, turn the heat off, add the butter and salt and pepper to taste and cover the risotto for a couple of minutes while the butter melts.  Let it rest.  Then stir the butter through and serve, with a drizzle of pesto, crumble the cheese over the top and finish with a shower of parsley.

The finished article. Omnomnom!

Risotto is really versatile so once you have the base of onion, celery, garlic and rice, you can mix up flavours and combinations, use red or white wine - get playing!