Mushroom Kritharoto with Parmesan & Gorgonzola by Annie Papatheodorou

Hi loves,

Since Chanterelles are in season right now, I’m sharing with you a delicious, simple, creamy and rich in flavor mushroom Kritharoto recipe made with my favorite pasta, Kritharaki. Kritharaki is a Greek pasta variety that looks like rice grains. Kritharaki it’s also called Orzo pasta, Risoni or in German Griechische Reisnudeln.
In this video, I use whole grain Kritharaki, so it’s a little darker than the common Kritharaki you may be familiar with or have seen on grocery store shelves. To prepare a vegan Kritharoto, leave out the cheese and add a vegan one.
Have fun recooking this recipe and write me a comment if you do so and your experience!

Much love,
Annie xo

Recipe

Ingredients:
300g Kritharaki
200g fresh Chanterelles mushrooms
200g fresh Champignons mushrooms
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, for sautéing
50g Gorgonzola
50g Parmesan
150g vegan heavy cream
water
Herbs: dried oregano, dried thyme, fresh thyme for serving
Spices: salt, freshly ground black pepper, nutmeg and optionally cayenne pepper if you want a little more spiciness.

Execution Method:
Finely chop the Chanterelles and Champignons mushrooms.
Place a pan over medium heat and sauté the mushrooms for 4-5 minutes, until they are soft in the center and browned and crispy around the edges (they will lose the excess water). It’s important that you stir only occasionally. Just give them a good toss every couple of minutes. Sprinkle some freshly ground black pepper and set the cooked mushrooms aside.

Finely chop the onion and mince the garlic.
In the pan add the extra virgin olive oil and sauté the onion for 3-4 minutes.
Add the garlic and sauté for 1 more minute.
Add the herbs and spices.
Add the Kritharaki and sauté for 1-2 minutes.
Add some water and stir well.
Add the vegan heavy cream and some water and stir again.
It’s important that you add water in batches, adding the next batch of water when the Kritharaki has absorbed the previous one. After each addition, stir constantly until the Kritharaki has nearly absorbed the liquid, then pour some more water. The gradual additions allow you to control the consistency of the Kritharoto. Cook until the overall texture is creamy but the individual grains of rice retain a slight bite.

Add the cooked mushrooms and stir.
Add the Gorgonzola and Parmesan cheese and stir well.
Set the Kritharoto aside to cool for 3-4 minutes.
Serve with fresh thyme and some freshly ground black pepper and enjoy 🙂

Extra tip: This mushroom Kritharoto is best freshly made, but leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Note that the Kritharoto will thicken in the fridge, so you might need to stir in an extra splash of water when you reheat it.