Cook time:
recipe:
serves 4-6
1 cup short grain brown rice
1/2 cup yellow moong lentils
4 cups water/vegetable stock
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion – peeled & chopped
1 bulb of fennel – chopped
3 cloves of garlic – chopped
1 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp salt
5 oz wild mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1 lemon
1/2 cup toasted nuts – almonds, cashews
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 cup cilantro, chopped
Bring stock to simmer in a big pot.
Heat the olive oil in a large shallow pan, add chopped onion, fennel, garlic. Cook on low heat for about 15 minutes until the vegetables get soft. Add the rice and stir until well coated with vegetable mixture and slightly translucent. Do not rush this step, let rice sautée until translucent otherwise your rice will turn mushy when it cooks through.
Now add a cup of simmering stock, lentils, salt and turmeric and stir well. Once most of the liquid is absorbed in rice, add more stock and repeat until rice is cooked al dente. This will take around 25-30 minutes. (You don’t need to stir rice too much in the beginning, stir really well towards the end for creamy consistency.)
While the rice is still cooking, preheat the oven at 375°F. . Heat olive oil in a large ovenproof heavy bottom pan. Add the mushrooms without overcrowding them and let them cook on high heat for 4-5 minutes until they start caramelizing. Season with salt and pepper. Place the pan in preheated oven and roast for 7-8 minutes until the mushrooms have cooked through.
At this point, the risotto should be cooked. Check seasoning, add toasted nuts, golden raisins and cilantro. Add half of the mushrooms and lemon juice, mix well. Add some more mushrooms and herbs on top and serve.