Mushroom Stock:

Coarsely chop mushrooms, onions, celery and leek. In a saucepan, lightly sauté vegetables with olive oil until the onions, leeks and celery are clear.

Combine sautéed vegetable, all remaining ingredients, and water in a large stock pot. Bring just to a boil, then simmer for 35 minutes. Strain vegetables from stock; cool down for future use or keep stock simmering for use in risotto below. Makes about 4 cups (1 L).

Mushroom Risotto:

In a medium-sized pot, bring mushroom stock to a simmer.

In a sauté pan, heat 1 to 2 tbsp (15 to 30 mL) olive oil and cook the sliced mushrooms over medium heat.

In a third pot, warm 2 tbsp (30 mL) each olive oil and butter over medium heat. Once butter is melted, add the diced onion to the pan and cook until translucent, then stir in the arborio rice. Keep stirring with a wooden spoon until the rice kernels are evenly coated with the butter; be careful to not brown the kernels.

Add one ladle of the simmering mushroom stock to the rice. Gently simmer the rice and mushroom stock while constantly stirring.

Once the rice absorbs the first ladle of liquid, add more, one ladle at a time, stirring constantly. Be sure to wait for each ladle of the stock to be absorbed into the rice before adding more. Repeat this process until the arborio rice is soft, but still “al dente,” and the starches have released from the kernel, making the risotto nice and creamy.

Finish the risotto by stirring in 2 tbsp (30 mL) of butter, the freshly grated Parmesan, and the sautéed mushrooms. Set aside, and keep warm while you prepare the scallops.

Scallops:

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat.

Pat the scallops dry, season them with salt and pepper, then sear until golden brown.

This should not take more than a minute or two per side; they should still be translucent in the centre.

Remove scallops from heat and place on an absorbent piece of paper to remove excess oil.

Arrange the scallops on a serving platter and scoop about ½ tbsp (7 mL) of risotto onto each scallop.

Wine pairing:

Blue Mountain Reserve Brut RD 2005

The RD (recently disgorged) spends six years on its lees developing an aromatic red fruit nose with toasted nuts and lees and a whiff of minerality. A scallop slayer.

Anthony Gismondi - Vancouver Sun (February 21, 2014)