BLACK TRUMPETS ARE the perfect garnish for this hearty yet slightly sweet winter risotto, along with fresh cold-weather ingredients such as butternut squash and arugula. The peppery greens temper the sweetness of the squash and the black trumpets add an extra dimension of earthy flavor that you won’t find in your typical recipe for Butternut Squash Risotto.
1 2-lb butternut squash, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 tbsp butter
1 large shallot, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
6-8 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/3 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
2 tbsp fresh sage, chopped
1 packed cup fresh arugula
1/4 lb black trumpet and/or yellowfoot mushrooms, rinsed
1. Peel and cut squash.
2. Warm stock in a pot.
3. Saute squash in 2 tablespoons of butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, covered, for 5 minutes over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally. Remove lid and cook a few more minutes to lightly brown squash.
4. Add shallot and garlic. Cook together with squash for a few minutes before deglazing pan with wine. Immediately add rice and stir thoroughly to coat. Reduce heat to medium.
5. Stir in a ladle or two of stock, repeating as the liquid is absorbed until rice is al dente.
6. While risotto is cooking, saute mushrooms in a tablespoon of butter. Set aside.
7. Finish risotto off-heat by stirring in sage, arugula, cheese, and last tablespoon of butter. Season with salt to taste. Garnish with sauteed mushrooms.
Serves 6
Hi Lang,
Awesome post. Had a blast pickin blacks and mudpuppies with you. Once you left the rains brought the blacks back from Santa Cruz up through Mendocino. Can’t keep a tasty mushroom down!
Nate
Love the black mushrooms, just darn asethetically appealing in photos (and taste). Had some wild black shrooms featured in a paste dish at the newish 5-Corner market in Ballard a few weeks ago, hmmmm.
Heard Norcal was getting unusual snow today!
oops, aesthetically appealing, typo!
Nate – Thanks again. Looking forward to hunting morels with you.
Jill – The blacks should be around for another month. Get ’em while you can!
It’s a happy morning that begins with a new FOTL blog post about mushrooms.
I’d love to try that risotto recipe. Seeking clarification on that last step though. Should the arugula be cooked in with the rice or is the dish done at that point and the arugula is being added fresh on top after the heat has been shut off?
Thanks!
Kristen – Thanks for pointing that out. Will clarify asap. I stirred in the cheese and arugula off-heat, so that the arugula has a half-cooked look in the served risotto. It’s still very green but withered. I bet it would be good piled on top at serving too. One more thing: this risotto was even better the next day, a little more savory and less sweet.
Wonderful! Thanks for the extra notes on the recipe Langdon. I can’t wait to try this one out.
Also, do the yellowfoot and hedgehog mushrooms live in the same sort of places that the black trumpets do? If not, I’d love a tip on where these two might be found. Mushroom hunting gives me such a charge. I got all fired up again thinking that there might be more to pick while awaiting the morels and chanterelles.
Kristen, all three species of winter mushroom seem to like decayed wood. Often you’ll see the blacks in areas with lots of deadfall. The yellowfoot will grow out of nurse logs and stumps, and the hedgehogs often fruit in areas with *very* decayed wood that looks more like soil. Mixed hardwood and conifer forests. Good luck!