Mushroom and chocolate risotto

Sylvia has been loving mushrooms lately. I bought some at the supermarket a couple of weeks ago and she could barely contain herself to wait till I had paid before munching on one as I wheeled her down the street in her pram. She even will eat them in the car on the way home from childcare, if I have managed to get to the market at lunchtime.

It is an obsession I have gladly encouraged. How wonderful to have a child begging for vegetables! What a great healthy snack! Gingerbread, Florentines and sultanas will also be gobbled down eagerly but it is nice to know Sylvia is not limiting herself to sweet food.

I find her love of mushrooms perplexing. I have never been one of those people who just can’t get enough mushrooms. I have learnt to love them as an adult but often find myself keeping a wary distance from the much-admired funghi.

So it is odd that lately some of my strangest kitchen experiments have been with mushrooms. Firstly there was the mushroom and rhubarb soup More recently I couldn’t resist trying Choclette’s Mushroom and Chocolate Risotto. Mind you this isn’t the first time I have had chocolate in a savoury risotto (she says with a casual toss of the head). I loved it in a beetroot risotto last year.

Mushrooms and cocoa seemed a great combination. However I think I overcooked my goose, or, rather, was a bit heavy handed with the seasoning. Too much stock powder and then using Dutch cocoa made it a very intense experience, almost like a gravy. (Sigh! Perhaps I should have followed Choclette’s recipe more closely!) It was better on the second night with more vegetables. I would not use as much again but I would recommend a sparing amount of cocoa with mushrooms.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: Shopping, Sylvia and Soup
This time three years ago: BBoM Raspberry Brownies for Two

Mushroom and chocolate risotto
Adapted from Choclette
Serves 4

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 generous cup Arborio rice
• 450g button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tbsp whisky (because I didn't have any white wine)
• 5 cups hot water, or as required
• 2 tsp stock powder (or salt to taste)
• 1-3 tsp cocoa (I used 3 and think it was too much)
• 1 dash of smoked paprika
• handful parsley and rocket
• parmesan cheese to serve (optional)

Mix butter and olive oil in a stockpot over low heat until butter is melted. Add onion and a pinch of salt. Stir until onion is translucent (I think this took about 10-15 min). Add garlic and stir for about a minute. Add rice and stir a few minutes (I fried it for about 10-15 minutes while I chopped the mushrooms). Add mushrooms and stir for about 5 minutes until they soften.

Add whisky and stir until absorbed. Stir in about 1½ tsp stock powder. Add hot water (I boil the kettle and use this water) about ½ a cup at a time. Keep the heat hot enough so the rice keeps gently simmering and absorbing each addition of water. When the rice is plump and cooked when tasted you have added enough water. This took me about 20-30 minutes.

Stir in 1 tsp cocoa and dash of paprika. Taste and check seasoning. Add more stock powder, salt and cocoa as required, taking into account if you are serving with parmesan cheese. Stir through some parsley and rocket. Serve hot, with cheese if required, and with salad or vegetables.

On the stereo:
Children of Lir: Loudest whisper