Wild garlic is just amazing and it tastes the best if you find it in a forest by yourself. And we did! Some time ago we went foraging and just felt like eating some creamy risotto. With mud still on our trousers, we went to the market and bought all the ingredients we needed. It was totally worth it!
For 2 portions
250 g risotto rice
1 yellow onion
1 clove of garlic
100 ml dry white wine
500 ml chicken stock
100 g wild garlic
50 g oyster mushrooms
50 g butter
20 g gervais (or mascarpone)
Saute a finely chopped onion on a bit of butter. Add a crushed clove of garlic, you don’t have to peel it.
Then you need to add rice, that needs to sweat a little bit in the pan. Next add the wine and let it boil out, otherwise you would taste in end. When that’s done, pour in about 2 laddles of chicken stock, it has to be really hot. The rice starts to absorb the liquid immediately. Risotto is about mixing and absorbing, as the liquid reduces, the flavor becomes more intensive.
Let’s move to the wild garlic. First wash the leaves and then blend it with 100 ml of chicken stock using a hand blender. When the rice is almost ready: it takes from 15 to 20 minutes (depends on type), we add the mix of wild garlic and stock, some gervais, grated parmesan and butter at the end.
Cooking risotto takes some time and experience, but don’t be afraid. Everybody told me that you have to stir all the time and add the stock in very small amounts, but Jan added it just in two batches and the result was delicious. Rice is of course the most import aspect, it has to be cooked through, but only al dente. Nothing is worse than overcooked risotto!
At the end we adjust the seasoning, the risotto should be creamy and liquid, so that it spreads on the plate in one layer.
We cull the oyster mushrooms, there is no need to cut it. Just cut off the lower part which is harder and fry it on the pan with some butter.
Put everything on the plate, add some fresh wild garlic and the pieces of mushrooms. Recommended to all lovers of risotto and wild garlic. Enjoy!
