Hello lovelies,
risotto is the dish I cook when I want to stand at the stove for 20 minutes and switch my head off. My mushroom fennel risotto with smoked tofu is the autumn version of that: creamy rice, fried mushrooms, finely chopped fennel that almost melts into it, plus diced and fried smoked tofu, fresh thyme, Parmesan and toasted pine nuts on top. It looks like a lot, but it is only one pot and one pan.
Fennel in risotto is nothing new for me, and anyone who has cooked my fennel risotto with pears and hazelnuts knows how mild and delicate the bulb becomes once it has spent a few minutes in the pan. Here the fennel gets company from mushrooms and smoked tofu, and the fruity risotto turns into a savory, smoky autumn dinner.
The technique stays the same whatever goes in: soften onion and garlic, toast the rice briefly, deglaze with white wine and then stir in the hot stock ladle by ladle. That is also how my sweet potato risotto with dried tomatoes comes together, which has been the family classic here for years. Once you have the 20 minutes of stirring down, you will try any variation.
The smoked tofu is my trick for depth without bacon. Cut into small dice and fried hot together with the mushrooms and fennel, it turns crisp outside and gives the risotto a gentle smoky note that goes beautifully with the thyme. If you ever want to swap the rice for a different grain, try my millet risotto with leek, where millet is stirred just as creamy.
Tofu and mushrooms are a pair that works for me in every form. In summer the two end up on the grill as grilled tofu mushroom skewers with salad, in autumn they go into the risotto pot.
I hope you give yourself those 20 minutes at the stove, they are worth it. And if a fennel bulb is left over, I like to cook it into my sweet potato fennel soup with orange the next day, so the fennel does not get forgotten in the fridge.
