MUSHROOM RISOTTO
• 1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
• 1 pint of the reserved porcini water
• 1 quart mushroom stock (see recipe below)
• 1 onion, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 oz. finely chopped mushrooms
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 1 cup dry white wine
• One third cup Parmesan cheese
• Fresh parsley and thyme to taste
Rinse the porcini mushrooms. Bring one pint of water to a boil. As soon as it hits a boil, turn off the heat, add the porcinis, cover, and soak for 20 minutes. Remove the porcinis and rinse them again. Chop the porcinis and set them aside. Strain the water they soaked in through cheesecloth. Add the porcini water to the quart of mushroom stock.
Sauté the onion with salt and pepper in the butter and oil until it just starts to soften. Add the mushrooms and porcinis and cook until they start to brown. Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the rice and cook for 1-2 minutes. Deglaze with the white wine and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium/medium-low.
Add about a cup of the mushroom stock and begin stirring. Over the next 25-30 minutes you will continue to stir and add stock in half cup increments as the rice absorbs each addition of stock. You will need about 5 cups, give or take of stock. Taste along the way to determine when it has reached the level of doneness that you prefer, adding additional salt and pepper as necessary. At the very end blend in the cheese, parsley and thyme and serve.
MUSHROOM STOCK
Use this stock as a base for mushroom soup or a mushroom sauce. For the latter, deglaze the pan with some of the stock after sautéing the protein. Then add sautéed mushrooms and either reduce the fluid or add flour to make a gravy.
• 1 ½ lb sliced mushrooms.
• Butter and/or olive oil as needed
• 2 quarts water
• 1 large onion, roughly chopped
• 3 garlic cloves
• 3-4 cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 batch of thyme
Using a large pot, sauté the mushrooms in butter and/or olive oil until fully browned. Add the water, onion, garlic, cloves, bay leaves, and thyme to the pot. Bring the stock to a very gentle simmer and cook for 2 hours uncovered. Strain the stock. There should be at least a quart of liquid remaining.
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