You must have patience when preparing this dish, but it’s well worth the effort — this risotto is creamy and very flavorful! If you don’t take the time to gradually add the stock to the rice, you’ll end up with a crunchy risotto that’s far too al dente (trust me). This dish makes for a perfect, light evening meal — serve with fresh sourdough bread and a glass of white wine. I hope you’ll try this tonight!

1 cup (1 oz) dried porcini mushrooms
1 1/2 cups boiling water
4 Tbsp olive oil, divided
3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely grated or minced
1 lb fresh “exotic” mushrooms, sliced (I used half shiitake, half oyster)
2 1/2  tsp salt, divided
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 medium onion, diced
2 cups uncooked arborio rice
1/2 dry white wine
6 cups chick stock
2 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus additional for serving
2 Tbsp chopped parsley

In a small bowl, cover mushrooms with boiling water. Cover and let stand 30 minutes. Strain mushrooms, reserving soaking liquid. Chop mushrooms.

Meanwhile, heat 2 Tbsp of the olive oil in a large frying pan over low heat. Add garlic and saute 3 minutes. Add fresh mushrooms, and turn heat up to medium-high. Saute 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in porcini mushrooms, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a Dutch oven, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir 2 minutes. Add the wine and stir until it has been absorbed, about 1 minute. Stir 1 1/2 tsp salt into the stock. Now, this is where your patience kicks in — add stock to rice mixture, one ladle at a time, stirring each time until it has been absorbed. About half-way through, stir in the reserved mushroom liquid. Continue stirring in stock. This entire process should take about 20 minutes.

Remove from heat. Stir in the mushrooms, parmesan and 1 Tbsp of the chopped parsley. Cover and let stand a few minutes. Serve, topping with additional parmesan and parsley.

Serves 4.