This is a sponsored post for Power of Mushrooms.
Are you one of the four million Australians who are vitamin D deficient?
With that being just under one in four adults in Australia, I’m going to bet some of you are. Hell, I bet I am.
Low vitamin D levels can leave you more at risk of risk of heart disease, Type II diabetes, hypertension, and colorectal cancer. Ouch.
Those of us in the lower states of Australia are less likely to receive our Vitamin D intake from the sun, particularly during winter, and therefore have to either get it through food or from supplements. Mushrooms are one of the best (and most delicious!) sources of vitamin D, and growers have just figured out a way to make them even more efficient in producing Vitamin D – where just three mushrooms will provide 100% of your daily requirement.
How, you ask? (I know, I did too!). Well, research has shown that mushrooms exposed to sunlight can naturally generate high levels of vitamin D. Mushroom farmers can now stimulate Vitamin D production in their crops just by putting them under a pulsed UV light for two seconds. Apparently, you can get a similar effect by leaving your mushrooms in the noonday sun for about an hour in winter, and only 10-15 minutes in summer – researchers at Sydney University confirmed that mushrooms placed in the sun in this way generated vitamin D levels in a similar way to humans.
This is crazy and amazing. Imagine how much vitamin D I could get sitting in the shade eating mushrooms! Add a book and a bottle of wine and that’s just about the best afternoon I could think of.
With all this talk of mushrooms, I had to make my favourite dish. Mushroom risotto is the first thing I will order off any menu ever, and for good reason. I can’t believe I used to hate them! Do you hate them? My mum does, and no amount of persuading her will do any good. But of course that just means MORE FOR ME. If you don’t hate them, you can get the specially-produced vitamin D mushrooms from major supermarkets, or you can chuck your own in the sun for a bit. Make this mushroom risotto and you have an easy, affordable way of upping your vitamin intake while also having a delicious dinner.
You can also find out more by downloading this super-helpful factsheet.
What’s your favourite mushroom dish?
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A rich, creamy risotto with the goodness of mushrooms (so much vitamin D!), the crunch of toasted nuts, and the sharp tang of a good goat cheese. Load me up!
Ingredients
- 500g mixed mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon dried porcini mushrooms
- 1.5 cups boiling water
- 6 Small sprigs thyme
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 Large leek, thinly sliced
- 6 cloves garlic
- 2 cups arborio rice
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 8 cups vegetable stock
- 1 cup grated parmesan-style cheese
- 100g goat cheese
- 1/2 cup walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 120C.
- Spread the walnuts out on a baking tray, and bake for 10-15 minutes, tossing occasionally, until golden and toasted. Set aside.
- Pour the 1.5 cups boiling water over the dried porcini in a bowl and let rehydrate for 10 minutes or so.
- Oil the tray and add your mushrooms, and four cloves of garlic (unpeeled). Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle over salt and thyme leaves.
- Turn the oven up to 200C, and add mushrooms. Roast for 15 minutes or so until golden brown and releasing their juice. Toss with one tablespoon of the butter, add a little more salt, and set aside.
- While the mushrooms are roasting, heat some olive oil and a tablespoon of the butter in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add the leek, two cloves of garlic, and the rehydrated porcini. Saute 5 minutes or so.
- Into a small pan, heat the stock and the porcini water. Add the stems from the mushrooms that are in the oven.
- When the leek and garlic is soft, add the rice. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring to coat the rice in the oil.
- Add the wine, and stir until absorbed.
- Keep adding the stock a ladleful at a time, until all is absorbed and the rice is soft (about 20-25 minutes).
- I like to add some fresh thyme about halfway through, throwing the stems into the simmering stock.
Just before serving, chop the mushrooms and add to the risotto. Keep stirring until they are warmed through, then throw in a few more sprigs of thyme. Add the last of the butter, and the parmesan-style cheese. - Check for seasoning – depending on your stock, you might need to add a fair bit of salt and always a good crack of black pepper.
- Serve warm with a drizzle of olive oil, and the chopped roasted nuts sprinkled over, alongside the goat cheese and a few fresh sprigs of thyme.
Keywords: risotto, mushroom risotto, vegetarian risotto,
You can also see my other mushroom recipe posts here: Mushrooms stuffed with rocket-walnut pesto, mushrooms stuffed with feta, lemon, and chili, mushrooms stuffed with sundried tomatoes and cream cheese, and roasted mushrooms with a mustard-cream sauce. Yum!
Oh my goodness, I love mushrooms. We don’t eat them much at home because hubster hates them but I’m trying to turn him (regrettably without much success!) As a result, I always order stuff with mushrooms off a menu! I think my favourite is a Portobello mushroom burger! All the noms. I will have to give this a whirl when next time I am home alone 🙂
Oh hell yes, a portobello mushroom burger! I once had a burger in Brisbane with the absolute most delicious portobello I’ve ever tasted. They kind of like, overcooked it on the outside and it had the BEST flavour! I’ve tried to recreate it so many times. I really like the mustard cream sauce in one of my other posts, I’m getting hungry right now…
I am a mushroom freak and love them. I stuff portobellos abd bake them, fry mushies up for breakfast (even eat the raw.. people think thats gross) but being a veggie I just love them! This looks epic I am so making this.
I hope you like it! I will eat them in any way possible too. Good stuff!
p.s porchini forever
YEP! I’ve had some weird, chewy porcini before, but this stuff I got was awesome. I will put mushrooms in ANYTHING.
I love a good mushroom risotto, saving this one for later!!
I hope you like it!
Yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuum.
Come over for dinner x
I’ve only just learnt about the mushrooms and vitamin D but it does give just another good reason to eat more mushrooms. I think the recent discovery of mass vitamin D deficiency in Australia has something to do with the fact the blood test for vitamin D has just become much cheaper so it’s now a standard blood test so we’ve probably all been deficient for years.
I bet we have! I am a sun-o-holic, but find it very difficult now that I’m in Melbourne. I miss that sunshine on my goddamn shoulders!
Mushrooms are seriously one of my fave things in the world. Since I had to give up meat, I get my meaty kind of fix from the mushys. I am so keen to give this a try. Thanks hun xx
They are especially good with Diane sauce. Which means that is now what I’ll be having for dinner!
It’s 11:30pm and I’ve had dinner, second dinner, a late night snack and a cuppa but I could INHALE this right now anyways.
I went out for dinner last night, and what did I order? Mushroom gnocchi for entree, MUSHROOM RISOTTO FOR MAIN. Obsessed.
Oh my gosh yes!! Yum!! And who knew mushrooms can give vitamin d?! On a scale of little miss sunshine to really deficient, I’m really deficient
Now you can get it by eating – my favourite pasttime!
Jacob hates mushrooms hence why I rarely cook with them but I enjoy them and love to eat them at breakfast. I can’t believe how awesome mushrooms can be by providing vitamin d. This has just blown my mind.
It’s so clever, huh? Just two seconds of that special UV light! Mushrooms for breakfast are the best.
I’m a reformed mushy-hater. Thank the stars, I’ve managed to get a daughter who loves them! Even more than me. This recipe is making my stomach rumble, before breakfast, at 6am. Mmmm…. mushroom risotto for breakfast? Could it be done? (I don’t see why not) Excellent advice on the vit D, thanks so much.
Haha I don’t see why not either! go on, break the mould 😉
Wowsers, I had no idea mushrooms were so weird and wonderful! I love a good risotto and am most likely quite low on Vitamin D as a result of being pasty white and therefore afraid of sun exposure so I will be printing this one off, I think. #palepersonproblems
haha my doctor asked me was I taking supplements when she looked at my levels. Turns out I just really love the sun! #wrinkledpersonproblems