“all of the mushrooms” risotto
Whenever I’m looking for some stability and grounding in my life, I turn to risotto. It is versatile, dependable, nourishing, and there’s always enough to share. While all the stirring can be a labor of love, I find making risotto to be almost meditative. The near constant attention needed as the rice cooks helps me to get out of my own head and to stop thinking about the craziness of the world for a few minutes. I call this version “all of the mushrooms” risotto because we really are using all of the mushrooms. I recommend avoiding the typical US grocery store mushrooms (i.e. button, white, or baby bella) and instead going for a variety of wild mushrooms (i.e. oyster, shiitake, porcini, maitake, trumpet, beech, enoki!, etc.). Not only do these mushrooms taste better and add more depth of flavor, they also have a higher nutritional value, each bringing their own nutritional benefits. I also highly recommend sourcing them locally at your grocery store or farmers market, or, if you are a forager, forage for mushrooms that grow around you. Mushrooms are incredible, not only for what they do for our bodies, but for what they do for other species (especially trees!) and for entire ecosystems. I could go on for days about the magic of the mycelial network but I won’t do that to you. If you are new to the world of mushrooms, the documentary Fantastic Fungi on Netflix is a great introduction.
In this recipe, we use mushrooms in multiple ways to build a rich, umami flavor. While this dish does take some time, focus, and love, I hope it helps you to be present and offers stability and comfort in certain and uncertain times.
“all of the mushrooms” risotto
ingredients
1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
6-8 cups water
1-1.5 lb variety of wild mushrooms (oyster, shiitake, porcini, maitake, enoki, etc.)
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
butter (or vegan butter)
1 yellow onion (1 large or 2 small/medium shallots works here too) finely diced
6 cloves garlic finely minced
2 cups arborio or cannaroli rice
2-3 sprigs of thyme
salt
3/4 cup dry white wine
2-3 tsp white miso (I use chickpea or brown rice miso here)
parmigiano reggiano (or vegan parm or nutritional yeast)
instructions
Bring 8 cups of water to a boil. Add in the dried porcini mushrooms. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cover for 30 minutes or until the mushrooms are rehydrated and the broth is nice and dark.
Once rehydrated, remove the mushrooms from the pot, roughly chop, and set aside (they will be incorporated back into the risotto later).
Cook the fresh mushrooms. I like to do this by starting with a cool pan. I add the mushrooms to the cool pan and then turn on the heat and leave it until they've started to brown and release liquid. It helps to add a heavy pan on top of the mushrooms to push them down and make sure they are getting nice and browned. Usually, I have to do this in a few batches to avoid overcrowding the pan and ensure proper browning. Try your best to get as many of the mushrooms as you can to be in contact with the pan. Once browned, stir the mushrooms and add a decent pinch of salt and 1 tsp of balsamic vinegar to each batch. Stir until fully cooked. Set the mushrooms aside.
In a wide shallow pan or a Dutch oven, heat up two tbsp of olive oil and one tbsp of butter. Once shimmering, add the yellow onion and cook and until softened and translucent. While the onion is cooking, make sure that the mushroom broth we made earlier is on a low heat and covered in preparation for cooking the rice.
Once the onion is cooked, add the garlic, 3-4 sprigs of thyme, a big pinch of salt, and some fresh cracked black pepper (to taste). Stir for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant.
Add the rice and stir for 2-3 minutes or until all of the grains are coated and fragrant.
Add the white wine and stir until it is almost completely cooked off.
Then, start adding the mushroom broth to the rice one ladle at a time (or roughly 1/2 cup). Stir until the broth is almost completely absorbed by the rice and then add more broth. Continue to do this until the rice is fully cooked. Be careful not to add too much liquid at once and be sure to start tasting the grains once it starts to look more fully cooked. I personally like there to be a tiny bit of bite to it and this also helps to avoid it getting too mushy. Add 1 tsp of salt or to taste and stir.
Remove the sprigs of thyme and stir in the cooked mushrooms (including the rehydrated porcini mushrooms). Then add 2-3 tsp of white miso, 1-2 tbsp of butter, and 1/2-3/4 cup of parm. Stir until everything is well incorporated. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. Given that the mushroom broth had no salt, you will like need to add more salt, parm and/or miso to really get that umami flavor to shine. If it needs some brightness, feel free to add some fresh lemon juice.
Immediately distribute the risotto to plates or bowls. Top with following (or whatever you prefer but I would highly recommend adding more parm): finely chopped chives, finely chopped parsley, parm, a drizzle of olive oil, and/or a drizzle of some good quality balsamic vinegar if you have it.
Enjoy :)
