A risotto, of course, is a classic Italian dish made with a very particular type of rice. ‘Kaszotto’ is a Polish variation, using millet, or kasza jaglana. which can be used in place of rice in a very similar way to making a risotto. The texture is different and the ‘kaszotto’ is less creamy, but it is lighter and a really good alternative. You can try this with different types of kasza; for example, crushed pearl barley (kasza je˛czmienna perłowa) works really well.
Ingredients
- 7 oz 1 cup (200 g) millet (kasza jaglana)
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 white onion, finely chopped
- 1 celery stick, diced
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1¾ pints 4 cups (1 litre) vegetable stock
- ¾ oz (20 g) dried mushrooms
- 14 oz (400 g) mixed fresh wild mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
- 1 tsp butter
- 2 tsp chopped fresh parsley
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
How to Make It
- Rinse the millet until the water runs clear, then drain in a sieve.
- Heat the oil in a large, wide pan, preferably cast-iron. Add the onion, celery and garlic, and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes until the vegetables are soft and translucent.
- Add the drained millet and stir well so that all the grains are coated in oil.
- In a separate pan, bring the stock to a gentle boil. Add the dried mushrooms. Add a ladleful of the hot stock to the pan with the millet, stirring until almost all of the liquid has been absorbed before adding another ladleful – leave the mushrooms in the stock to flavour it. Keep going until all the stock has been absorbed. The millet should soften after 10–15 minutes.
- Remove the mushrooms from the stock pan using a slotted spoon. Chop them and add to the millet pan. Stir in the fresh wild mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the butter and parsley, and season with salt and pepper. The ‘kaszotto’ shouldn’t be too dry and there should still be a bit of a bite to the grains. Serve hot.
