The Food has Weed in It: A Cooking with Weed Primer with Recipes for Weed Roasted Garlic, Caramelized Mushroom Risotto, and A Bean Ragout

The Primer

Oven Roasted Garlic

Ingredients:

• 1 cup peeled garlic cloves
• 1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• ¼ tsp ABV weed (or more, depending on your preference and dosage requirements).

1. I find it easier to use already peeled garlic, but only if you get it from a produce market or ethnic store. The overly packaged stuff in the produce aisle in the supermarket is old and has so much packaging it’s ridiculous. If you don’t mind peeling your own, then get 2 large heads or 3 medium heads peeled– enough for 1 cup of whole garlic cloves.
2. It’s perfectly fine if you want to peel using the smash method, just don’t smash them beyond recognition. You’ll want mostly whole cloves if at all possible. Trim the ends off your cloves and make sure they’re dry. 
3. While you’re peeling, pre-heat your oven to 350.º Add your garlic to an oven-safe glass or ceramic dish; I used a loaf pan. Cover with about 1 cup of olive oil. Tightly cover the pan with aluminum foil. 
4. Bake for about 20-30 minutes, until the garlic is golden brown. Take it out of the oven and let it stand undisturbed for a while. Don’t immediately remove the foil or you risk the oil splattering in your face. 
5. When the pan is cool enough to touch, using a slotted spoon remove all the garlic from the oil, and place in a glass jar. A smallish wide mouth, canning jar works best. The oil should go in its own jar. Don’t be tempted to put your oil in a bottle. It’ll be hard to extract since it will be refrigerated. The cold oil will solidify, so it won’t be pourable. In a jar, it’s easier to measure out a tablespoon. 

Caramelized Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients:

• 1 pound gourmet or wild mushrooms; for this recipe I used only chestnuts and pioppinos
• 2 cups of arborio rice (raw, rinsed and drained)
• 8 cups of chicken stock (if using pre-made and not homemade, see note* below)
• Light-green bottom of 1 large leek, cut into crescents (reserve the green tops– all the green tops; see note** number 2 below)
• 1 medium yellow onion, minced
• 1/8 tsp ABV Pine Soul OG
• About the same of fresh cannabis, not decarbed, chopped fine
• 4-5 cloves of cannabis roasted garlic, minced
• ½ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp roasted garlic infused cannabis oil
• ½ cup grated Gruyère
• ½ cup grated Pecorino Romano
• ½ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• 1 cup white wine
• kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

1. Clean and trim your mushrooms. Separate caps and stems. 

2. Mince the stems and set aside. 
3. Chop the remaining mushrooms. If the caps are small enough, leave them whole. Anything larger than your thumbnail is too large. 
4. Into a heavy-bottomed pot (not cast-iron and not non-stick), caramelize mushrooms on medium heat in butter and garlic infused canna-oil, using 1 tsp of each at a time. Do this in batches and set aside the browned mushrooms in a covered vessel. 
5. Once the mushrooms are removed from the pot, return the pot to the heat and deglaze with 1/3 cup wine. Pour off deglazed wine and set aside. You will use it later in the cooking.
6. One the mushrooms are caramelized and removed from the pot, saute the onion and leek in more butter and infused oil until translucent. About 5 minutes. 
7. Add minced garlic and the weed– both fresh and ABV. Stir to combine.
8. Add the arborio rice and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir to make sure nothing sticks, raise the heat to get a little browning
9. Deglaze the pan with the all the wine.
10. Once the liquid is absorbed, start adding the warmed stock. Reduce the heat to medium. When the liquid is absorbed by the rice, repeat, adding no more than ½ cup of warmed stock a time. Stir gently and consistently, but this isn’t merengue. You don’t need to add air and make a gloppy mess. (Here are some perfect risotto tips) 
11. Halfway through the cooking process, add ½ tsp of kosher salt and a healthy dose of freshly ground black pepper, about ½-1 tsp.
12. At the midway point, switch to a ¼ cup scoop or ladle to add your broth. Keep the dance going: ladle, stir, absorb, ladle, stir, absorb until the rice is almost al dente. How do you know? Taste. If the rice is undercooked, you’ll instinctively want to drink something to flush out the gritty taste. If it’s al dente, it will have a firmness; a “bite.” 
13. Add the mushrooms and any of the mushroom juices (which won’t be much since you didn’t

    salt your mushrooms) just before the sweet al dente mark, when your rice is still undercooked. If your rice went too long and is al dente, don’t despair. Just turn off the heat, add your mushrooms without any of their liquid. Reserve it for another dish (like the Bean Ragout). Absolutely Do NOT add broth at this step. If your rice isn’t quite done yet, you want to allow the rice to absorb any of the liquid from the mushrooms. Once it has, if the rice isn’t perfectly al dente, add a bit more liquid, but a scant tablespoon or two at a time. 

14. When the rice is al dente, turn off the heat. Add your cheese, a sprinkle at a time so it won’t ball up, stirring gently. Finish with parsley and eat as soon as possible. 

A Bean Ragout

Ingredients:

• ½ pound gourmet or wild mushrooms. Again I used my Smiling Earth Mushrooms. Shiitake, Blue Oysters and Lionsmane; cleaned and trimmed
• 1 cup sorted, washed Yellow Indian Woman Bean (If you can’t find this particular bean, use something that’s creamy but hearty; something that won’t melt away in the pot and something that won’t compete with the mushrooms in terms of texture. Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES use canned beans. Order something from Rancho Gordo. Since they’re out of Yellow Indian Woman Beans right now (along with my first substitute for them, Eye of the Goat) try their Santa Maria Pinquito Bean or their Lila Bean
• 1 large onion white or vidalia, sliced, set aside from the other onions
• 2 medium yellow onions, sliced
• 4-6 medium carrots, chopped fine
• 3 stalks celery, chopped fine
• 4-6 cloves of roasted infused garlic, minced
• ½ head of flat leaf parsley
• 1/8- ¼ tsp ABV Haleigh’s Hope

  No I didn’t use all this bud in my beans. I used a piece a little smaller than a nickle, chopped it, and measured out 1/4 tsp.

  
  
• ¼-½ tsp fresh Haleigh’s Hope bud, not decarbed, chopped
• 3-4 tbsp butter and 3-4 tbsp weed-infused garlic oil 
• Green tops of 1 leek, sliced into crescents (again see note** above)
• 2 cups chicken stock (+ more if needed; see note* above)
• 2 tsp sugar
• salt and pepper to taste

1. In a heavy bottom pot, cast-iron is fine, caramelize the large onion in 1 tbsp butter and the same amount of the weed-infused garlic oil. After 3-4 minutes, when the onions go translucent, add the 2 tsp of sugar and let the onions caramelize. 
2. Mince the fresh weed and add to the caramelizing onions. When golden and jammy, set aside.
3. Meanwhile, in another heavy-bottomed pot, on medium-high heat, saute the remaining onions, leeks, and ABV weed until translucent in the remaining butter and infused garlic oil. About 5 minutes.
4. Then add the minced, roasted infused garlic, carrots, and celery for another 3-5 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, pour off the soaking liquid from the beans– but set aside! You’re going to use it.
6. Add beans to the pot with ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper. Saute quickly, making sure to coat the beans in the pan juices and oils. Add reserved soaking liquid and 2 cups stock. Stir to combine. Cover with a tight-fitting lid, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer.
   
   
   
   
7. Every 15-20 minutes, check for doneness and to make sure the liquid hasn’t simmered away. When beans are midway, add 1 tsp of salt (or to taste). You don’t want the beans floating in a soup, but you want to make sure there’s about 3 cups of liquid in the bottom of the pot. Add broth if necessary. The consistency of this dish is a thick, stew: a ragout. 
8. Meanwhile, using a super sharp knife– I was more successful with a sharp, serrated bread knife– slice your Lionsmane into steaks or large chunks. Set aside. Cut your oysters and shiitakes into large, 1-2 inch pieces. Set these aside separately from the Lionsmane. 
   
   
9. When the beans are nearing done, place a cast-iron pot or skillet on medium-high heat. DRY. Do not add any fat. Sear the Lionsmane on each side until golden. Set aside.
10. Reduce the heat to medium. Add some of your butter and infused garlic oil. Begin browning sliced shiitakes and oyster mushrooms in batches. When one’s done, set aside, and start the next batch. When all are browned, return all the mushrooms to the pan, add in the caramelized onions you made earlier. Gently fold. Add the lionsmane. Gently fold to combine. Turn off the heat. 
    
    
    
    
11. When the beans are done, remove from the heat. Finish the beans with chopped parsley. Stir to combine. Check seasoning. Adjust salt and pepper if necessary.
12. Serve beans topped with caramelized mushrooms.