In the course of prepping for a series of Rejigit mushroom dish recommendations just posted to Rejigit Blog ( http://www.rejigit.co.nz/vendor/article.php?uid=f7 ) one of the dishes required a couple of sprigs of fresh Rosemary. Rejigit's chef checked at a local supermarket and discovered fresh Rosemary was available at $9.99 per 100 grams (I kid you not! $99.90 per kg).
Fortunately, said chef was aware of a nearby roadside hedgerow of Rosemary which is growing in extremely exuberant fashion and the supermarket craziness was avoided.
Mushroom Risotto:
(Serves 4 - 6)
300 - 400g of thick-sliced Mushrooms
⅓ cup of vegetable oil
2 medium diced Onions
4 cloves of minced Garlic
2 large sprigs of fresh Rosemary
1½ cups of Arborio or short-grain white rice
2 tablespoons of Balsamic vinegar
3 cups of prepared vegetable or chicken stock
½ teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of ground black pepper
Pre-heat oven to 180°C
Finely dice the onions and fry in a large pan (add the garlic half way through) stirring occasionally until soft and browned (about 8 minutes).
Put the cooked onions aside. Heat the pan again to medium-high, put the sliced mushrooms in and cook for five minutes until browned.
Put the mushrooms aside. Re-heat the pan with oil and a knob of butter and add the rice, cook and stir until the rice begins to turn transparent (about 4 minutes).
Combine the cooked onions, cooked mushrooms, par-cooked rice, balsamic vinegar, stock, sprigs of rosemary, salt and pepper in an oven-proof dish with a lid and put in oven for about thirty five minutes.
