Creamy Mushroom Risotto

• 2 cups Arborio rice, short-grain
• 1 1/2 lb mixed mushrooms, sliced — cremini and button work fine
• 1/2 oz dried porcini, soaked in hot water
• 6 cups chicken stock, warmed
• 1 yellow onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup dry white wine — something you'd actually drink
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, stripped from stems
• kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
• fresh parsley, chopped — optional, for serving
• 1 cup hot water, for soaking porcini

1. 1

   Pour six cups of chicken stock into a saucepan and bring it to a gentle simmer, then drop the heat to low. Keep it warm the whole time you're working — cold stock added to hot rice stops the cook and makes the whole thing seize up.

2. 2

   Soak the dried porcini in a cup of hot water for about ten minutes. Lift them out, chop them fine, and strain the soaking liquid through a coffee filter to catch any grit. Pour that liquid into your warm stock — it's where half the flavor lives.

3. 3

   Heat the olive oil and two tablespoons of butter in a wide, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the mushrooms in a single layer and let them sit undisturbed for a good three minutes before stirring — they need to brown properly, and crowding the pan will steam them pale instead. Cook the mushrooms in batches, transferring each browned batch to a plate before adding the next.

4. 4

   Once all the mushrooms are deeply browned, leave them on their plate — they go back in at the end, so they stay meaty instead of steaming the rice. Add the onion to the pot and cook until translucent, about four minutes. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for thirty seconds more.

5. 5

   Add the Arborio rice and stir to coat every grain in fat. Toast it for about two minutes until the edges of the grains turn translucent and the kitchen smells nutty. Pour in the white wine and stir constantly until it's fully absorbed.

6. 6

   Add the warm stock one ladle at a time, stirring frequently. Wait until each addition is nearly absorbed before adding the next. This takes about twenty minutes total. The rice is done when it's creamy but still has a slight bite at the center — if you've used up all the stock and it still seems firm, add a splash of hot water and keep going.

7. 7

   Take the pot off the heat. Stir the browned mushrooms and the chopped porcini back in, then beat in the remaining two tablespoons of cold butter and the Parmesan with a wooden spoon. This is called mantecatura and it's what makes risotto glossy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

8. 8

   Serve immediately in shallow bowls with extra Parmesan and parsley if you're using it. Risotto waits for no one — if it sits it tightens up and turns into something that looks like oatmeal.

9. 9

   Leftovers keep in the fridge for up to four days. Reheat in a covered pan with a splash of stock or water over low heat, stirring until loosened.

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