Risotto with Porcini Mushrooms, Filet Mignon with Mushroom Champagne Sauce

Firstly let me say Happy New Year. Your arrival at more door means a lot, so please keep coming back. You can look forward to getting here much more quickly as soon as I convert over to my new software package. Hopefully within a few weeks, I will have a new home.

Skipping dinner on New Year’s Eve and breakfast on New Year’s Day this lunch was our first bite of food for the new year, and if this sets the 2010 standard, it’s going to be a good food year. Capturing a good picture of meat is not my talent, and if you cut into the tenderloin, it’s cooked medium rare and is very tender. The sauce and risotto bring home the flavor, as tenderloin is not as flavorful as other cuts of meat.

I know that risotto should be served as it’s own course, but this works, and I like to step away from tradition and go new places.

The Royal Foodie Joust
I love champagne. It’s glamorous and retro. The Royal Foodie Joust is hosting their January challenge (due today) using the ingredients, orange, mushrooms and champagne, chosen by December’s winner, Gfron of The Curious Blogquat  with Ginger Pear Filled Pithivier with Fennel Infused Butter Puff Pastry. I couldn’t quite put mushrooms anyway near oranges in my mind. Intuitively, citrus and mushrooms do not go together. But, I thought what if the surrounding ingredients somehow worked as a filter to allow both types of taste to come together. This is why I venture into this contest. It always makes you think.

Some of my entries from last year include:

The result of an orange zested, porcini mushroom champagne sauce was amazing and something I never would have tried had it not been for the contest. The orange is very subtle but you can pick it out in the background. Make the risotto separately and you can put it with the steak as I have or even serve it as your first course, followed by the steak. That would be outstanding.

Risotto
I had forgotten how good porcini mushrooms are. Bold, robust, and stand-alone is how I might describe the taste. They need nothing else. What a way to begin the first day of the new year with a fillet mignon parked upon a bed of porcini mushroom risotto.

The last time I had porcini mushrooms, they were foraged by the family that taught us a cooking class in Italy. There are strict rules for foraging these mushrooms in Italy. One must have a permit, is limited in amount and must use an open basket so the spores escape. The Italians consider the Porcino the king of mushrooms. We made them with a homemade pasta, and I had forgotten the rich flavor, that almost tastes like you added wine to the dish.

Most of us will not have access to fresh and will use the dried porcini which need to be reconstituted. Buy them from a reputable gourmet shop, and look them over well. If you see pin holes in the stem, that is a sign of worms. They should not be like dust, and they should smell strong when you open them.

This can be eaten alone as an entree, eaten as a first course or eaten as a side course. In Italy it would be a stand alone course, served before the protein in place of soup or pasta or following a soup.

 To Reconstitute Porcini Mushrooms:

1. Place 1 oz. mushrooms in 2 cups warm water for thirty minutes. RESERVE WATER. Squeeze out juice. Place on paper towel.

Proceed with Recipe for Risotto:

Risotto with Porcini Mushrooms Recipe adapted from Marcella Hazan, Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 4-5 cups Meat broth or store bought organic broth
• 1 tablespoon Canola oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon onion, finely diced
• 1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
• 1/3 cup parmigiano reggiano, freshly grated

1. Saute onion in butter and oil until softened.
2. Add rice and stir, cooking for 10 minutes.
3. Add hot broth 1 cup at a time until the rice is cooked with just a bite to it. I watered down store bought organic beef broth 2 cups broth to 1 cup of water. Once broth is absorbed, add mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper.

Note: I kept out 1/4 of the mushrooms. I added all of the filtered water to the sauce. This yields 7 cups of broth. Use 4-5 for risotto, maintain rest to make the sauce. Use two cups to make sauce.

For the Sauce:

• 1 cups of broth (see note)
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 2 tablelspoons butter
• 2 tablespoons blood orange olive oil, divided (you can use regular olive oil with a bit of orange zest)
• 1/4 of porcini mushrooms (see above
• 1 cup champagne
• Few sprigs of fresh thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon orange zest
• 1 teaspoon peppercorns
• Sea salt

1. Smash garlic clove into dijon mustard and 1 tablespoon blood orange olive oil. Rub over steaks. Allow to come to room temperature while you make the sauce.
2. Put butter and olive oil in pan. Soften onion.
3. Add in broth, mushrooms. Bring to a simmer. Add champagne, orange zest, pepper corn, thyme. Reduce down for 30 minutes or more until sauce is thickened. Season with salt as needed.
4. Strain through sieve. Serve immediately over steak marinated with mustard and garlic. Garnish with thyme and peppercorns

Risotto for Recipe adapted from Marcella Hazan, Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 4-5 cups meat broth or store bought organic broth
• 1 tablespoon Canola oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon onion, finely diced
• 1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
• 1/3 cup parmigiano reggiano, freshly grated

Reconstituting Porcini Mushrooms
Place 1 oz. mushrooms in 2 cups warm water for thirty minutes. RESERVE WATER. Squeeze out juice. Place on paper towel.