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Risotto with Dried Morels and Wild Mushrooms

Prep Time:  20 mins.

     Cook Time:  30-45 mins.

     Serves:  6

Which do you prefer: the juicy succulence of fresh mushrooms or the deep, slightly chewy savor of dried? This recipe features the best of both worlds.

Ingredients

  • 1 oz. (about 1 1/2 cups) dried morels
  • 2 cups boiling water, for soaking mushrooms
  • About 4 1/2 cups chicken or mushroom stock
  • 4 Tbsp. butter
  • 1/3 cup minced shallots
  • 6 oz. fresh wild mushrooms, sliced (2 heaping cups total)
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, divided

Directions

  1. Place dried morels in a bowl, add the boiling water, push mushrooms beneath the liquid and let soak until plumped, about 10 minutes. Remove, rinse and slice the mushrooms. Strain liquid through cheesecloth into a saucepan; add stock, heat the mixture and keep it warm.
  2. Heat butter in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-low flame. Add shallots; cook, stirring often, 5 minutes. Raise heat to medium-high, add fresh mushrooms and sauté until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add soaked mushrooms and wine; stir until most moisture evaporates.
  3. Reduce heat to medium-low; stir in rice until coated. Add just enough stock to barely cover the rice; stir frequently until most is absorbed. Continue adding stock a ladleful at a time and stirring until it is mostly absorbed. Risotto is done when rice is barely tender and mixture is creamy and thick; this should take 20 to 35 minutes. (Adjust heat if rice is absorbing liquid too quickly.) If you run out of hot stock before rice is done, heat water in the microwave and use as needed.
  4. Stir in half the Parmesan; add salt and pepper to taste. Top each serving with additional Parmesan.

Notes

Suggestions Terese likes this recipe best in fall, when market stands proffer chanterelles, hen-of the woods and other wild fungi, and when she can call on the cache of morels dried the previous spring. Still, cultivated varieties may be substituted for wild any time of the year. This recipe can easily be made vegan by substituting oil for the butter and omitting the Parmesan or using a vegan substitute.