For the love of fungi

Ah fungus. This is a food about which the Farrars don't always agree. I am gradually winning the kids over however, and now two out of three will consider letting a mushroom past their lips. Let's just be optimistic and say that number three is a work in progress. Not that he has never eaten a mushroom, but only when hidden in a bolognese sauce (amazing how mushrooms look like more ground turkey when chopped up really small....).

My favorite fungal recipe is undoubtedly this corker from Delia Smith. For those of you unfamiliar with Delia, she is the Julia Child of the UK. Prolific cookbook writer, TV staple, and co-owner of a football team (that's real football, not that excuse for violence you Americans insist on calling football...). You can get a lot of Delia's recipes online here: www.deliaonline.com . Or if you are in the market for an old-fashioned book (with pages, that turn!), then I recommend her Summer Collection and Winter Collection. According to her website, her Winter Collection is the biggest selling non-fiction title in the UK ever. Not sure how valid that figure still is, but can't argue with the fact that she is an icon of British cuisine.

This particular recipe is taken from the Winter Collection. I have fiddled with it over the years and found that it does work with alternative types of rice (I use arborio, as I can never find carnaroli), different types of alcohol (white wine works, but the recipe is MUCH better with the stronger taste of madeira in the original). I've also added additional vegetables on occasion. You just can't top Delia though, so the version below is the tried and true original. And for those of you who are risotto purists, it really DOES work to bake it in the oven, and you get to sit down with a glass of wine while you wait, rather than stand continually stirring a pan on the stove. Would I lie to you? (I can assure you that even when the chance of a sofa and a Zinfandel is involved, I would not).

Oven-Baked Wild Mushroom Risotto
Serves 6 as an appetizer (or 3-4 as an entree)

1/2 oz dried porcini mushrooms
8 oz fresh dark-gilled mushrooms
2 1/2 oz butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
6 oz carnaroli rice
5 fl oz dry Madeira
2 TBSP grated parmesan, plus extra shaved into flakes
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F
2. Soak the porcini mushrooms in 19 fl oz of boiling water. Leave them to soak and soften for 30 minutes.
3. Chop fresh mushrooms into 1/2" chunks
4. Melt butter in saucepan, add onion and let it cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Add fresh mushrooms, stir well and leave to one side while you deal with the porcini.
5. After their 30 minute soak, place a sieve, lined with folded kitchen roll, over a bowl and strain the porcini, reserving the soaking liquid (including any more you can squeeze out of the kitchen roll after you've removed the porcini).
6. Chop the porcini finely and add them to the mushroom and onion mixture on the stove. Keep heat low and let them sweat gently for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile put a 9" ovenproof dish (around 2" deep) in the oven to warm.
7. Add rice and stir to coat with butter, then add Madeira, followed by strained mushroom liquid. Add 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, and bring it all up to a simmering point.
8. Transfer to the warmed dish, stir once and place on center shelf in the oven (do not cover).
9. After 20 minutes exactly, remove from oven, and stir in grated parmesan, turning over the rice grains.
10. Put back in the oven for exactly 15 minutes, then remove from oven and serve immediately, sprinkled with parmesan flakes.

I know risotto is supposed to be eaten immediately, do NOT pass GO, do NOT collect $200... but I promise you that any left-overs still taste pretty good the following day after a quick blitz in the microwave. Again, my apologies to all those risotto purists out there.