Food - Trader Joe’s Haul Recipes

I posted a few items I found at Trader Joe’s recently. Here they are, along with a few recipes I made from their produce and such.

Mushroom Risotto

“Cook Beautiful” by Athena Calderone

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 low sodium chicken stock

• 5 tbsp unsalted butter divided

• 2 cloves minced garlic

• 2 large finely chopped shallots

• 12 ounces fresh wild mushrooms (chanterelles or hedgehogs) I couldn’t find these so I used the brown beech super cute mushrooms ;)

• 5 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped (I used my kitchen shears to cut)

• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary (leaves minced…again I used my shears)

• 4 sprigs fresh thyme (I took the leaves off first and didn't include the stems)

• salt & freshly cracked pepper

• 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice

• 3/4 cup dry white wine

• 3 tbsp mascapone

• 3/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano, plus more for serving (I used pecorino)

• 3/4 cup wild currants or blackberries, for serving

• 1 tsp fresh chopped chives and/or parsley

• 1 lemon, zested

I medium saucepan, bring stock to simmer over medium heat & keep it at a bare simmer, covered.

In a heavy saucepan, melt 4 tpsp of butter over medium-high heat. Add garlic & shallots and saute until softened, 1-2 minutes. Add mushrooms & herbs, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are softened and just turning golden brown and their liquid has evaporated, 5-7 minutes. Season with salt & pepper.

Add the rice & cook, stirring, until it turns opaque, about 1 minute. Using a ladle, add 1 cup of the hot stock & simmer, stirring, until it has fully evaporated. Continue to add stock, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently and allowing each addition to be fully absorbed by the rice before adding the next. When the rice is just tender and creamy looking, in 20-25 minutes, it’s done ( it should be cooked through but still have a bite to it.)

Remove the risotto from the heat and discard the thyme stems. Stir in the remaining 1 tbsp butter, marscapone, perorino, and season to taste with salt & pepper. If the risotto is thicker than you’d like, thin it with some of the leftover stock.

Just before serving, garnish with berries, chives, pecorino and lemon zest. Adjust the seasoning to taste and serve immediately.

*I added sautéed shrimp (cooked in a separate skillet in some butter, fresh garlic, salt & pepper). Don’t let the number of ingredients and long instructions stop you from making this. It does require a good bit of time but totally worth it! It was also good without the shrimp the next day as leftovers.