Pumpkin And Sage Risotto With White Truffle

Pumpkin And Sage Risotto With White Truffle Oil

This creamy and comforting dish combines the rich flavors of pumpkin and sage with the luxurious aroma of white truffle oil, making it a perfect autumn meal.
Ingredients:
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
4 cups vegetable broth, kept warm
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons white truffle olive oil
2 tablespoons Butter olive oil, or mushroom sage olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh sage leaves, chopped
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish (optional)

Toasted pumpkin seeds for garnish (optional)
Directions:
In a large saucepan, heat the White Truffle Olive Oil and Butter Olive Oil over medium heat.  Add the chopped onion and cook until it becomes translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in the minced garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds.

Add the Arborio rice to the saucepan and stir to coat the rice with the oils, onions, and garlic. Toast the rice for about 2 minutes until it becomes slightly translucent at the edges.

Pour in the white wine and cook until it's mostly absorbed by the rice, stirring constantly.

Begin adding the warm vegetable broth to the rice, one ladle at a time. Stir continuously and allow the liquid to be mostly absorbed before adding more broth. Continue this process until the rice is creamy and cooked al dente, which should take about 18-20 minutes.

About halfway through the cooking process, stir in the canned pumpkin puree and chopped sage leaves. This will infuse the risotto with a lovely pumpkin and sage flavor.

Season the risotto with salt and black pepper to taste.

Once the risotto is cooked to your desired consistency, remove it from heat.

Drizzle White Truffle Olive Oil over the risotto and gently fold it in to incorporate the luxurious truffle aroma.

Serve the Pumpkin and Sage Risotto hot, garnished with grated Parmesan cheese if desired.   Enjoy!

Creamy Polenta With Mushrooms

Creamy Polenta With Mushrooms, Sage, And Garlic

This Creamy Polenta with Wild Mushrooms, garlic, and sage is a life saver! A simple, easy meal that can be made in under 30 minutes.

Ingredients:
Creamy Polenta

4 cups veggie or chicken stock (or sub water with 1 tsp salt)
1 cup polenta (ground corn meal)
___1/2 cup cheese-optional (goat cheese, white cheddar, parmesan, romano, vegan cheese) or leave it out!
1–2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
Shallot

Salt and pepper to tasteShallot,  

Sauteed Mushrooms

3 cups mushrooms, cleaned -chanterelles, morel mushrooms, button mushrooms, cremini, miatake, shitake or portobellos
1–2 tablespoons oil or butter (a mix is nice)
1 shallot, diced
2–4 garlic cloves, rough chopped
2–3 tablespoons wine- totally optional(cooking sherry is nice- sherry wine, not sherry vinegar!)
1 tablespoon fresh sage (or sub rosemary or thyme)
finishing salt
Garnish- a drizzle of truffle oil ( optional- but worth it! )

Directions
Make the Polenta: 

Heat the stock in a medium pot and bring to a boil. Once it is boiling, turn the heat down to low and gradually whisk in the cornmeal to the hot liquid while whisking vigorously to avoid any clumping.

Bring to a simmer, cover and let simmer gently on low heat for 10 minutes, then give a good stir. (Start the mushrooms below!) Cover again, simmer 10 more minutes, give another good stir. If using fine cornmeal, this should be close to done, if using a coarse polenta, you may need to cook a tad longer until grains fully open.

When the polenta is tender and cooked through, add your choice of olive oil, or butter, cheese, white pepper, stirring until fully incorporated. TASTE and adjust salt. Turn off heat, cover until ready to serve.

Mushrooms: 

While the polenta is simmering, saute the mushrooms. Heat oil over med heat, add shallots, garlic and mushrooms, cook 6-7 minutes until mushrooms release their liquid, lowering heat if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Let the liquid cook off and allow the mushrooms to brown a little. At this point, you could splash with a little wine, letting this cook-off too- optional. Add the sage leaves right at the end and cook for one minute. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if needed.
Serve the mushrooms atop a bed of delicious creamy polenta.
Drizzle with Truffle oil if you like!

NOTES


I also love adding wilted baby spinach to this for extra nutrients. Feel free to add the spinach to the mushrroms towards the end, letting it gently wilt. So tasty!

Truffle Mac And Cheese

Truffle Mac And Cheese

This earthy decadent Truffle Mac and Cheese is a mushroom lover’s dream. It’s easier than you think and can be made ahead- perfect for holidays and gatherings.

Ingredients:
16 ounces pasta- small shell or elbow (see notes)

Sauteed Mushrooms 

12–16 ounces mushrooms- cremini, shiitake, oyster, chanterelle, porcini, maitake, sliced or torn.
1/2 an onion, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh thyme (divided) or sub 1 tablespoon dry thyme

Truffle Cheese Sauce

1/4 cup butter (or substitute-olive oil)
1/3 cup flour
4 cups whole milk (or sub 1/2 and 1/2 and water, or soy milk)
8 ounces gruyere- or white cheddar ( or a mix, about 3 cups shredded) please see notes.

1/4 cup pecorino cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dijon mustard ( or sub-yellow mustard powder)
pinch nutmeg
Truffle oil to taste 1-3 tablespoons

Crispy Topping 

3/4 cup panko
1/4 cup pecorino or parmesan
1 tablespoon truffle oil

Optional: 2 handfuls chopped spinach

Directions
Preheat oven to 375F.

Cook pasta: 

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta according to the directions on the package. Cook to al dente. Drain and rinse in cold water, and place this back in the same pot, and coat with a little olive oil to prevent sticking.

Saute Mushrooms: 

Simultaneously, saute the mushrooms and onions in an extra-large skillet with olive oil, over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Season them with salt and pepper and add 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dry).

Crispy Topping: 

In a small bowl, mix the panko with ¼ cup pecorino cheese, and olive oil (or use more truffle oil) and remaining thyme.

Make the creamy truffle cheese sauce 

(You can do this also at the same time if you feel confident). Heat butter over medium heat and let it get golden (like brown butter) lower heat if need be. Once it smells deliciously nutty, whisk in the flour and cook for one minute. Add 1 cup of milk, and whisk over medium heat until it thickens noticeably. Whisk in remaining milk, and continue to heat, whisking often to almost a simmer,stirring so the bottom doesn’t burn. Once hot, lower heat to low- stir in the gruyere cheese, pecorino, salt, pepper, dijon and 1 tablespoon fresh thyme ( or 1 teaspoon dry). Whisk until the cheese is completely incorporated and you have a smooth, creamy sauce. Turn off the heat and stir in truffle oil to taste. As all are different, start conservatively adding more as you like. Adjust salt– you want this to taste rich and slightly salty as the pasta will soak much of this up.

Combine: Pour the creamy Truffle Cheese Sauce over the drained pasta in the pot. Stir in 2/3rds of the sauteed mushrooms (saving some for the top). Stir in a handful or two of chopped spinach if you like-somehow this always makes me feel better- up to you. 😉

Taste. Adjust salt, pepper and truffle oil.

Assemble: Pour into a buttered 9 x13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with the panko mixture.

Bake uncovered in a 375F oven for 15 minutes, add remaining mushrooms to the top, and continue baking until bubbly and golden, another 10-15 minutes.

Notes:
If you like extra creamy Mac and cheese, reduce the pasta down to 12-14 ounces (versus the full pound).

Pre-grated cheese often contains anti-caking agents which can make the bechamel sauce grainy. I grated the gruyere in my food processor and the pecorino in the picture was freshly grated by our local market.

If making this vegan– to add more depth to the truffle cream sauce, consider adding miso paste, nutritional yeast or mushroom powder.

Roast Cornish Hen With Pomegranate Glaze

  Roast Cornish Hens With Pomegranate Glaze        

If fresh hens are available, they are juicier and have a better texture than frozen ones. Four small hens will feed 4 people; larger ones may be cut in half, serving half per person. However, make an extra in case people want seconds. Use low-sodium or homemade chicken broth in the sauce, for the best taste.

Herb Butter
¼ cup (50 mL) butter, softened
2 tbsp (25 mL) chopped parsley
2 tbsp (25 mL) chopped fresh chervil or tarragon
1 tsp (5 mL) grated lemon rind
1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Glaze
2 tbsp (25 mL) chopped shallots
½ cup (125 mL) red wine
½ cup (125 mL) pomegranate juice
2 cups (500 mL) chicken broth
3 tbsp (45 mL) chilled unsalted butter, cut in squares
¼ tsp (1 mL) truffle oil or more to taste

Directions:

Remove backbones from hens by cutting along either side with kitchen shears. Take a knife and cut through the small piece of cartilage just above the breastbone. Bend the hen backward to expose breastbone, and gently remove. Remove wing tips and first joint. Reserve bones for stock or discard (or have the butcher do it).

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).

Beat together butter, parsley, chervil and lemon rind and reserve. 

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Season hens with salt and pepper and place, 1 at a time, skin-side down in skillet. Cook for 3 minutes or until golden, then turn over and cook another minute. Remove hens to rack over a roasting pan, skin-side up and reserve skillet for making glaze. Brush hens with seasoned butter.

Bake hens for 35 to 40 minutes or until juices are clear.

Remove fat from skillet while hens are roasting and wipe with paper towel. Add shallots, red wine and pomegranate juice over high heat. Bring to boil and reduce until syrupy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add broth and continue to cook until reduced by half, about 5 to 7 minutes. Beat in butter. If sauce is too thin boil until slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in truffle oil to taste. Re-warm when needed.

Cut hens in half and coat with a little glaze. Drizzle the plate with any remaining glaze.

Serves 4