Sat night in… finishing it off

2-May-20: So we’ve had our starters and feeling somewhat satisfied and relaxed. A little break whilst we cook main and time to finish off that magnificent Verdelho… and Yes ! Really taking advantage of the season with another version of mushroom risotto. This time “amping” up the autumnal flavours by including chestnuts. What is the ONLY wine that could possibly be a match made in heaven for this dish ? A good ol’ “pongy pinot” Why “pongy” ? Because it has this distinctive nose that you can’t mistake for anything other than pinot noir 😄

Main Course – Mushroom & Chestnut Risotto

The recipe for the Mushroom and Chestnut risotto is a blended one from my own version with a few others to determine when to add the Chestnuts. You can use the base recipe from the 29-March version. I did find a number of different versions on the Web, so if in doubt just consult Dr Google 🧐

It is fairly much the same recipe from the 29th version, with the differences being the chestnuts, different mushrooms and leave the jamon or prosciutto off (you can leave them in if you really want, as I think they would compliment ok – personal taste).

To prepare the chestnuts, MAKE SURE YOU PRICK THEM or put a slice in them, before you pop them in the oven for about 10 minutes to roast. I forgot to one time and nearly broke my oven door when they exploded ! Plus scared the bejeezus out of us, it was like a gun going off…

Once out, and still warm, peel them and set them to one side (might need to use a tea towel to hold onto them and not burn your fingers !)

For the risotto, the main change here is instead of having porcini mushrooms in it, I added shitakes with brown field mushrooms and white button mushrooms. I also had some extra stock on hand as did not have the porcini juice to add in.

Cook up the risotto and near the end, before adding the cheese, add in the chestnuts – about the same time as the spinach. Based on the taste, I didn’t think it needed extra cheese to serve, just some fresh cracked black pepper.

The shitakes gave a quite a different flavour to the porcinis and was a little more subtle, which complimented the creamy nuttiness of the chestnuts – something a little different and worth the effort as long as you don’t get shot by a chestnut 🤣

Pièce de résistance – Choccy Self-Saucing Pudding for dessert – yummmmmm

We only have this a couple of times a year but maaaaan is it yummy. There is only ONE place you can go for recipes like this and that’s a Coutnry Women’s Association (CWA) Cookbook.

My dear old Mum was a very long serving member of the CWA (or Cranky Women’s as my Dad use to cheekily refer to them…) and she made sure not only did I and my brother and sisters have copies but so did many of my friends.

We all have a nice laugh from time to time when one of us digs it to do one of those magnificent country favourites that only country women, well practised in the art of making beautiful sponges, cakes, deserts, puddings and sweet treats (amongst other savoury delights), can make. Here’s the recipe I used, you can see its well loved and worn…

To decipher the notes here are my amendments:

• Whilst I crossed out 2 eggs – I still put in 2 eggs instead of 1
• I increase the amount of SR Flour as make a little extra by adding extra milk
• As per above – 1/3 cup of milk
• Cut back a little on the castor sugar to 1/2 cup
• The reason for the extra flour and sugar is to make a little extra to lick the bowl 🤣😋😊
• Normally I leave the walnuts out but they are yummy to include – just personal preference
• I amp up the volume of sauce so is extra saucy – hence extra water – 11/2 cups
• I tone down the sugar – again I use either brown or white sugar – depending on your sweet tooth preference and just use a little less
• The other change to the recipe is that I make the sauce mix in the dish you are going to cook the pud in and then add the batter over the top, and it seems to allow the sauce to stay saucier 😉
• An extra hint is don’t over cook it, or if re-heating, be careful not to reheat for too long as you lose the sauce into the cake part. This happened with this version and was more fudgy than saucy but still yum.

To serve, your preference of cream or ice-cream – vanilla of course and this time, I sued some fresh raspberries, just because I love them…

With such a lovely dinner, we finished the evening off with a sneaky little tawny port from the Clare Valley, SA. We bought this on our trip to Clare last Easter (2019)… Happy Soul Food moment everyone