Christmas is almost here, so we're continuing our festive menu. After last week's starters, here are two main courses for every taste: a porcini and prawn risotto, and an entrecôte with a creamy mushroom sauce.
Porcini and prawn risotto
We've chosen organic, fair-trade jasmine rice (wholegrain if you prefer), porcini mushrooms (Boletus edulis) – much loved in French, Italian and Spanish cooking, and a source of B vitamins – and prawns, a source of selenium.
Ingredients
- 400 g prawns
- 400 g jasmine rice
- 1 onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 glass of white wine
- Sea salt flakes and pepper
- 2 handfuls of fresh porcini or other mushrooms
- A few sprigs of parsley
- Parmesan
- 5 bay leaves
- Extra virgin olive oil
Method
- Cook the prawns in plenty of salted water with the bay leaves. Leave to cool, peel and set aside, keeping some of the cooking water.
- Finely chop the onion and garlic and soften in olive oil over a medium heat. Add the wine and let the alcohol evaporate for about 2 minutes, then add the rice and stir.
- Add the prawn stock little by little, stirring with a wooden spoon so the rice absorbs it. Add the chopped parsley.
- When the rice is al dente, take it off the heat, stir in grated Parmesan until creamy and leave to rest for 5 minutes.
- Clean and slice the porcini and sauté with parsley and the prawns. Spoon over the risotto and serve.
Entrecôte with creamy mushroom sauce
For meat lovers. Choose good-quality meat and enjoy red meat in moderation – UK guidance suggests no more than about 70 g of red and processed meat a day on average.
Ingredients
- 400 g mixed mushrooms
- 1 red onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 300 ml cooking cream or light evaporated milk
- Sea salt flakes and pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Entrecôte steaks (about 200 g each)
- 2 sprigs of rosemary
- ½ glass of port
Method
- Sauce: heat two tablespoons of olive oil, add the chopped onion and mushrooms and cook over a medium-low heat for 3–4 minutes. Turn up the heat, add the port and let the alcohol evaporate. Add the cream, season and cook for a minute, then blend until smooth.
- Meat: in another pan, heat two tablespoons of oil with two whole peeled garlic cloves and the rosemary. When the garlic is golden, remove it with the rosemary and cook the steaks in the flavoured oil to your liking. Season after cooking.
- Serve with the sauce. Enjoy – and next week, desserts!