Foraging chanterelles evokes memories of summer and long conversations about food. My former chef, William-a Milanese and former maître’d at La Gavroche-recently called me, excited about a risotto he’d thrown together after a day in the woods. I took notes and made this simple version you can make at home. The pops of gold color and delicate aroma is a nice change of pace from typical mushroom rissotti.
It's a basic risotto, just chock-ful of chanterelles, with the most perfect buttons sauteed separately and spooned on top as a final garnish. I took notes during our conversation, waiting until the next season to share it with you today.
How to Make It
First the chanterelles should be cut according to their size, and there's lots of options here. Small, bite-sized buttons should be left whole and can be reserved to saute at the end, spooned on top as a garnish.
Mushrooms to large to be bite-sized can be cut into smaller pieces. If the mushrooms are bug-damaged, or if you want to fit in as many mushrooms as possible, they can be finely chopped. You can also use a few spoonfuls of frozen mushroom duxelles.
Typically onion is used in risotto, but leeks are great with chanterelles and make a fine substitute. I like to cut the leeks into small dice so they melt into the rice. Cut the leeks in half, then make thin ¼ inch slits nearly down to the root end, cutting them to make a small dice. Finally, soak them in water to clean them.
To start the risotto, the mushrooms are added to the pan first to evaporate their water. I add the leeks along with them as there's no need to brown the mushrooms.
Cook the mushrooms and leeks until the leeks are softened, adding some chopped fresh thyme, then add the rice and cook for a few minutes more. Add a splash of dry white wine, then begin adding the stock a ladle at a time, stirring regularly.
Once the stock has been added and the rice is tender it's time for the montecare, when the fat is added. I like to embellish this risotto with a splash of cream, but you can skip it and increase the butter slightly.
Meanwhile, when the rice is nearly done, brown a few handfuls of small chanterelle buttons to spoon on top as a garnish. If I have a few sprigs of thyme and a garlic clove I'll add them to the pan.
Off the heat, parmesan cheese is added and quickly stirred into the risotto, after adjusting the seasoning it's ready to serve.
Possibly the most important thing about risotto is that it must be juicy enough that it lays flat when the bowl is jostled. This ensures each bite is creamy. Risotto is never mounded in a bowl. Spoon the sauteed chanterelles on top, sprinkle with a few cut chives and serve.
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Chanterelle Risotto with Leeks
Equipment
- 1 3 quart sauce pot
- 1 wooden spoon
- 1 Utility knife or paring knife
Ingredients
- 12 oz chanterelle mushrooms 6oz for the risotto, 6 oz to saute as a garnish
- 4 oz 1 medium leek, tender white and green parts cut into ¼ - ½ inch dice, top discarded or saved for stock
- 1 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1 cup risotto rice such as arborio or carnaroli
- 4 cups homemade chicken stock or packaged low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme or savory leaves picked and chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh cut chives
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- Kosher salt to taste
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 oz (⅓ cup) grated parmesan cheese plus more for serving
Instructions
- Clean and sort the chanterelles by size. Small bite-sized buttons should be reserved to saute as a garnish, larger ones can be finely chopped or cut into bite-sized pieces.
- Cut the leeks in half, removing most of the leafy green top and an outer layer or two until only the tender green and yellow parts remain. Put the leeks cut-side down on a cutting board, cut lengthwise into ¼ inch slices, keeping the root intact to hold them together. Dice the leeks, rinse in a bowl of water, drain and reserve.
- In a 3 quart or similarly-sized sauce pot, sweat the chopped chanterelles and leeks in half of the oil with a pinch of salt and the thyme until the leeks are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the rice, stir and cook for 2-3 minutes more. Add the splash of wine, stir until absorbed,
- Begin adding the chicken stock, a ladle at a time, waiting until the liquid is absorbed before adding more. You may not need all of the stock.
- Meanwhile, quickly brown the chanterelle button garnish in a pan with the remaining oil. Adding a pinch of salt at the end.
- When the rice is tender, turn the heat off, add the butter and cheese and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon. The risotto should be thick, creamy, and loose enough that it will be flat when spooned into a bowl. If needed, adjust the consistency with a splash of stock.
- Spoon the risotto into four small serving bowls, garnish with the sauteed chanterelles, sprinkle with chives and serve.
Dave Lenz
I have one big bowl of chanterelles left from my last outing. Perfect timing on this one! Dinner tomorrow!
Alan Bergo
Thanks Dave, nice to hear from you. Hope you’ve been having a good season.
Marena L Markel
Haven't made this yet, but did prep already by making some chanterelle duxelles. I really enjoy your visual presentation of the steps, makes me hungry. I am a bit sad because we haven't had enough rain for our chanterelles to continue (in Northern Michigan).
Alan Bergo
Thanks Marena. My spots have been hit and miss here in MN but most of my friends have done alright. A friend did really well this week on Yellowfeet in the UP.
Jorge Vilanova
Can This be made with dried chanterelles?
Alan Bergo
No. You could make a dried chanterelle risotto but they would need to be finely ground and it will have a slightly different flavor. Dried Chanterlles are too chewy to be pleasant dried if not ground. It could be ok, but this is really meant to showcase the fresh mushrooms. Try adding ground chanterelles to a batch of cornbread-it’s fantastic.
Lorenzo
Perfect timing on this one. Looks fire as always Chef 🫡👌