SAFFRON EDAMAMÉ RISOTTO WITH OYSTER MUSHROOM SAUTÉ

Freshly-picked oyster mushrooms

On our daily walk this morning, we saw oyster mushrooms growing on the fallen log where we found them last year. I guess they like the moist, warm weather. We picked quite a few on our way back and carried them in my overshirt. I love finding gourmet ingredients in the wild!

For lunch, I sautéed them with some Soy Curls® (about 2 cups), already reconstituted with veggie "chicken" broth, lots of garlic, and some chopped fresh rosemary in a little olive oil. (You could use veggie "chicken" strips, instead.) After the mushrooms wilted a bit, I added 1/2 cup of veggie "chicken broth", 1/4 cup of dry sherry, salt and pepper, and let it cook down (all this at high heat, stirring alot).

I served them on top of a colorful saffron risotto with thawed frozen (shelled) edamamé (green soybeans), made in the microwave, and made creamy with my Vegan "Gruyere" from The Vegan Feast, as follows.


BRYANNA’S MICROWAVE SAFFRON RISOTTO WITH EDAMAMÉ
Serves 4 as a side dish or starter, 2 or 3 as a main dish

Barbara Kafka, one of America's most renowned food writers and for many
years a columnist for Gourmet magazine, writes in her book “Microwave Gourmet”: "If anything could convince the true cook, or even the ardent eater, that the microwave oven is a tool worth having, it would be that it makes risotto divinely, effortlessly, and relatively rapidly while the cook talks to the guests. From being a once-a-year treat, it can go to being an everyday delight." And: "The very idiosyncrasy of cooking that makes the microwave oven generally unacceptable for the cooking of floury dishes makes risotto work well. Starch absorbs liquid slowly in the microwave oven, and it also absorbs too much. That is
exactly what you want the rice to do in a risotto."

This is the exception to the rule that it isn't really a time-saver to cook rice in a microwave oven. With this method, you can have creamy, savory risotto in under 20 minutes, with no stirring. (Another advantage is that you can cook it right in the serving dish, so you have no dirty pot!)

1 Tbsp. Earth Balance
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup superfino arborio rice (or other Italian superfino rice)
2 and 3/4 cups hot chicken-style vegetarian broth
pinch Spanish saffron
1/4 cup dry sherry(or more broth-- 3 use cups liquid in total)
Additions:
1 cup thawed frozen (shelled) edamamé (green soybeans)
a large handful of cubed Vegan "Gruyere" (my recipe in the Vegan Feast newsletter)
OR grated or crumbled white vegan cheese, such as Tofutti (try the Roasted
Garlic Soy-Cheese Slices)
OR Vegan Gourmet
Freshly-ground black pepper to taste

In a medium-to-large-sized microwave-safe casserole place the Earth Balance. Microwave about 45 seconds to melt. Add the onions, cover and cook on full power for 1 1/2 minutes. Add the rice, and stir well. Cook uncovered on full power for 1 1/2 minutes, then add the liquids and stir well.

Cook uncovered on full power 7 minutes.

While the risotto cooks, you can make your sauté to top off the risotto. It doesn't have to be what I described above; it can be your own invention.

Add the edamamé to the risotto and cook about 7 minutes longer. Stir the "cheese", stirring well but carefully, until it melts.





The rice should slightly saucey (I don’t like it too “soupy”). Taste the rice for doneness-- you may need to cook it for another minute or so— this will depend on the power of your microwave. Serve very hot on a heated soup plates, with the sautéed mixture placed decoratively on top. Add a sprig of fresh herb, if you have some in your garden.


Enjoy!