Aphrodisiac mushroom risotto

This evening I made mushroom risotto. It wasn't just any old mushroom risotto, it was a special aphrodisiac version. About twenty years ago a friend took me to a book presentation by Isabel Allende. She is the one who wrote The House of the Spirits which was made into a film starring Meryl Streep. My daughter has read all her books and enjoyed them all. The book Isabel Allende was presenting on this occasion was called "Aphrodite" and she wrote it to celebrate her fiftieth birthday in praise of sensuality and a sort of aphrodisiac approach to life. It is also a cookery book and the recipes are all accompanied by her comments on their aphrodisiac qualities. She says at some point in the book that the only real aphrodisiac is love and the book is an invitation to have fun with food and bring joy to a relationship through cooking without taking it all too seriously.

Here is Isabel Allende's recipe for mushroom risotto, for two

Risotto Lori

Ingredients

1 cup of risotto rice
1 cup of mushrooms, champignons
1 cup of dried mushrooms, soaked, rinsed and chopped
3 cups of vegetable stock
2 tsps. of butter
4 tbsps. of olive oil
one small white onion, finely chopped
half a cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp. of finely chopped garlic
half a cup of red wine
1 tsps. of truffle oil, optional
1 tbsp. of chopped rosemary
half a tsp of grated nutmeg

Bring the vegetable stock to the boil and then turn off the heat. Melt the butter and oil in a non-stick pan and gently fry the onion, garlic, champignons and dried mushrooms together and then turn them onto a plate. In the same pan fry the rice together with the rosemary, the nutmeg and then gradually add the vegetable stock, stirring occasionally on a low heat. When the rice is almost cooked add the mushroom mixture and stir well. Add the rest of the stock and cook for another ten minutes stirring all the time. When the rice is cooked add the red wine and the truffle oil if using and check the seasoning. Remove from the heat and stir in the grated Parmesan cheese.
This goes well with a green salad and a small glass of red wine.

Mushroom risotto