2. Primi (pasta, risotto)

Risotto with Apple, Mushrooms, and Goat Cheese

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When we visited Estancia Piedra for a wine tasting, our charming host Mary suggested that a risotto with tart apple, mushrooms, and goat cheese would be outstanding with the Rueda Verdejo from Estancia Piedra. Although the wine did smell of apples, it was not a combination I would have thought of myself. And so I was very curious to give it a try. Mary didn’t provide a detailed recipe, so this is something I made up based on her suggestion. She  mentioned to use mature (hard) goat cheese, but I decided that a fresh goat cheese would be nice to make the risotto creamy in the end. Mary, thank you for the suggestion and I hope I did it justice. The risotto was delicious and did work with the wine. Here’s what I did…

Ingredients

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For 2 servings

130 grams (2/3 cup) risotto rice, such as carnaroli

150 grams (5 oz) mushrooms, thickly sliced

150 grams (5 oz) tart apples, chopped

150 grams (5 oz) chopped onions

75 grams (3 oz) goat cheese

750 ml (3 cups) vegetable stock

2 Tbsp rum (optional)

60 ml (1/4 cup) dry white wine, preferably Rueda Verdejo

salt and freshly ground black pepper

freshly grated nutmeg

2 Tbsp olive oil

Instructions

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Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a wide thick-bottomed pan and add 150 grams of chopped onions. Season with salt.

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Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the onion is soft and golden, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat up 750 ml of vegetable stock so that it will be hot when you need it.

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Add 150 grams of thickly sliced mushrooms and season with salt.

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Stir over medium-high heat until the mushrooms start to release some water.

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Add 150 grams of chopped tart apple.

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Stir for a couple of minutes.

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Add 2 Tbsp of rum and stir until it has evaporated. (I included rum because Mary suggested it, but I only used a little. If you are having the dish without the wine then you could use only rum and no white wine, and perhaps do a flambée. To have the dish with Rueda Verdejo, you could use just the wine and leave out the rum altogether.)

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Add 130 grams of risotto rice, and stir to toast the rice.

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Once the rice is very hot, add 60 ml of Rueda Verdejo (or other dry white wine). Stir until it has been absorbed.

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Add a ladle of hot vegetable stock…

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…and stir until it has been absorbed. Then add another ladle of stock. Keep stirring and adding stock until the rice is al dente, about 16 to 18 minutes.

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Taste whether the rice is al dente. It should still have some bite, but should not be hard.

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Add 75 grams of goat cheese, and stir to incorporate.

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Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt, freshly ground black pepper, and freshly grated nutmeg.

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Allow the risotto to rest for a couple of minutes.

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Serve on preheated plates. I’ve garnished it with some raw apple and sautéed mushrooms.

Wine pairing

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No surprise after the intro: I paired this with a Rueda Verdejo of Estancia Piedra and it worked well.

The apple makes the risotto a bit sweet, so I think a wine with a touch of residual sugar like a Riesling Spätlese Trocken would also work very well.

Flashback

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One of the questions I get asked most is where I find the time to cook. Although I do spend a lot of time cooking (and shopping for ingredients), I also make a lot of very quick dishes.  This delicious pistachio-crusted guinea fowl takes only 15 minutes to prepare and is perfect for a tasty meal to indulge for yourself or to impress your guests.

28 thoughts on “Risotto with Apple, Mushrooms, and Goat Cheese”

  2. What a delight to find a total ‘newie’! Love risotto but have never even come close to this combination . . . Hmmm: Calvados for my attempts to come . . . for some reason totally fell in love with it on my first visit to France and its eating culture and always have a bottle at the back of the cupboard. Remember a fabulous meal at the then ‘Hotel de la Poste’ in Avallon: chicken cooked tableside [well, it was fashionable 🙂 !] in Calvados and cream . . . the head waiter smiled and wheeled out a second set of ingredients + an apron: ‘if Madame will allow me . . . ‘ Well, I had to get up in front of the [small] restaurant and cook the second helping right then and there. Don’t know my very elegant husband quite approved: but, as you can see, I still remember 🙂 !!

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      1. *big smile* Darling husband and I were obvious ‘foodies’ way back before that term was used: we both thought the dish absolutely wonderful – the main course did come in two ‘helpings’ . . . so I guess a smiling headwaiter thought to have a bit of fun! [And have a note slipped into his pocket later?] I was ‘taught’ step by step!! Oh, my very young at the time daughters used to do a lot ‘better’, especially in Italy – you should have seen how adept they got asking to be shown the kitchens and remaining there ‘to help’!! The term ‘chef’s table’ was an unknown at the time also!!!

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  9. Love the combo of flavors in this risotto, Stefan. I’ve been a bit preoccupied with apples this fall and your risotto would further feed my obsession. I also like the idea of using goat cheese here. This must be one delicious dish!

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  10. Oh wow, this looks amazing, I love the colours, I can only imagine how wonderful the flavours are. my only problem is I lack the patience to make a good risotto, I made one, once, many, many years ago, with heated stock, and adding in the heated stock ladle by ladle and letting it evaporate, it was a serious nightmare. I served it to guests (yes stupid I know, my first and only risotto), they were American, they compared it to cement (the wet kind.. or glue, I don’t remember exactly) the osso bucco was amazing, the risotto, well hm. so I will look at yours and dream, and perhaps one day i will manage to make one. I guess if I had a kenwood chef that heated stuff and stirred at the same time I could manage..I am sure you are laughing now..

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    1. So sorry your first risotto didn’t turn out so great, and even more that it almost made you give up. I can assure you my first risotto was worse, because it was a long time ago and I made the mistake of using store-bought stock. The risotto became inedibly salty because of that. I still remember how disappointed I was after the stirring that seemed to have taken forever. Now making risotto is a breeze.

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      1. Thanks for the words of encouragement, I might yet try again, I am just so darn impatient. Carnaroli is more forgiving is it? Great – thats why all the books recommend it, and of course I have a whole book dedicated only solely to risotto…

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  11. You know what – considering how delicious it looks I am going to have to try it, my kitchen has all the ingredients, unsurprisingly,I stock about 5 kinds of rice (hm, is that true, let me think: 1) basmati 2) jasmine 3) sticky 4) sushi 5) black italian 6) carnarolii 7) oh uncle bens too (I know I know, it doesn’t really count) 8) turkish – I like the way the grains cook!

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    1. Good for you! It really doesn’t take that long, and you don’t have to stir ALL the time. The most important is to stir right before and right after adding more stock. Make sure to start tasting the rice after about 15 minutes of cooking, because it sounds like your previous attempt at risotto may have been overcooked. Good that you have carnaroli, because it has a wider window of perfect doneness than arborio (and is thus easier to cook right). Let me know how it turns out!
      P.S. It also helps if the chef sips some wine during the stirring 🙂

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