Risotto with Rosemary Infused Chanterelles, Apricots and Goat Cheese

It´s time to pick some chanterelle, or how we call it in Austria Eierschwammerl!! Chantarelle mushrooms are high season in Austria at the moment. They love the weather we´ve been havig in the last couple of months. Lots of rain and hot sunny days in between. This means that they are literally growing exuberantly out of the ground. I totally enjoy going mushroom hunting and picking them myself in austrian woods. It´s always an adventure and best of all is, you won´t get them anywhere fresher than picking them yourself!

They look pretty but also are amazing in taste and texture! I love using chanterelle in pasta, quiche, strudel or risotto dishes. This time I made some creamy chanterelle risotto which is made in only 30 minutes! The grilled apricots on top bring a little sweet twist in this dish. I created this recipe for the tourism blog Innsbruck, so you can also find this recipe in german here.

This is what you will need:

• 200g risotto rice
• one liter of vegetable stock
• one onion
• 100g grated parmesan cheese
• olive oil
• some chopped almonds
• 80 ml white wine
• a handful apricots
• a handful rosemary, chopped
• a handful parsley, chopped
• 1/2 kg chanterelles
• fresh and creamy goat cheese
• a pinch of nutmeg and two bay leaves
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Prepare the ingredients. Clean the chanterelles and cut them into mouth sized pieces. Chop up parsley, rosemary, the onion and the almonds and set aside. Core the apricots and cut into slices.
2. For the vegetable stock bring one liter of water to a boil. When the water starts to cook, add one vegetable stock cube to the boiling water. Stir until well combined and set soup aside.
3. Heat a large skillet with three tablespoons of olive oil. Sauté the chopped onions in the olive oil for one or two minutes. Add the rice and stir for another minute. Deglaze with the white wine. Add a little freshly grated nutmeg and the bay leaves. Reduce heat and let the white wine evaporate.
4. Add one ladle of soup little by little. When the soup has evaporated add another laddle just until the risotto tastes aldente. Risotto should always taste firm to the bite.
5. While the risotto is cooking prepare the chanterelles in another pan. Heat three tablespoons of olive oil. Add the chopped rosemary and toss with the chanterelles. Salt and pepper to taste and roast all for about five minutes.
6. Remove the roasted chanterelles from the pan. When the risotto is aldente you can carefully fold in the roasted chanterelles and the chopped parsley.
7. In the same pan you can grill the apricots on each side until they turn lightly toasted. No need to add further olive oil.
8. Top the chanterelle risotto with grilled apricots, some fresh creamy goat cheese and spread some chopped almonds on top!
9. Serve right away, maybe with a glass of wine and enjoy!

xx Nadja