Dried porchini should be a relatively standard supermarket item. The truffle oil may require a higher end supermarket like Whole Foods, or perhaps someplace like a gourmet Italian shop.

Ive never looked for dried mushrooms  would they be in the produce area?

Try Sur La Table, William Sonoma, or Trader Joes for truffle oil and truffle salt. Joes would be cheapest but they don't always have it.

If you can't find porcini mushrooms, just use shiitake or wild mushrooms, or even regular old supermarket brown mushrooms.

Dried mushrooms have to be reconstituted in water, and they are somewhat mushy or soggy. You could strain and use the soaking liquid in the risotto, thus capturing all of the mushroom-y goodness.

I would probably use fresh mushrooms, sliced, and in a separate pan, brown them well in butter, then add the browned mushrooms to the risotto about 1/2 hour before the risotto is done. The browning adds flavour, and adding the mushrooms later helps retains som firmness. Depends on if you want your risotto to be entirely porridge-like, or to have some texture.

This is, generally, how I make risotto.
- In your largest saucepan, hopefully a wide and shallow one, heat a couple TBSP of olive oil. I use a 10-inch saucepan that looks like a straight-sided frying pan. Use truffle oil here, if you want to.
- Add rice to the hot oil. For a traditional risotto, use short-grained white rice. I also like to make risotto with wild rice, mixed 50/50 with brown rice, it just requires a longer cooking time.
- Saute the rice over med to high heat for about 10 minutes, stirring to avoid burning. About half-way through, add some minced onions and/or shallots, and some minced garlic. Saute a bit longer for wild rice.
- Level out the rice and add enough liquid to just cover. You can use white wine, chicken stock, or water. I usually alternate between white wine and water. Bring liquid to bubbling, then reduce heat to medium-low or low, depending on your burner. Stirring occasionally and gently, let the liquid cook down. Do not cover the pan.
- When the liquid is more than half gone, add more liquid to just cover. Again, you can alternate liquids. Stir occasionally and keep cooking.
- As you keep adding liquid, start stirring more frequently - but still gently, you don't want to mash the rice. The rice will cook and soften, and the risotto will start to turn creamy. Taste the rice occasionally to judge its doneness.
- When the rice is getting closer to done, add the browned mushrooms and whatever herbs you had planned. I don't usually add any herbs, but some saffron wouldn't be awful.
- You're going for a creamy, soft texture, but the rice kernels should still be evident and a serving of risotto should still hold its shape, rather than collapsing into a puddle. That's just my opinion - risotto shouldn't be pudding or baby food.
- When the texture and doneness is right, you can adjust the taste with salt (truffle salt, yum), pepper (white pepper, if you are an aesthete), a very small splash of chicken stock or wine, and - I admit - a couple pats of butter. You can also add garnishes for color, like a bit of chopped greenery (parsley, cilantro, basil).
- Risotto requires time, so start it 2 hours before mealtime. If you finish early, no problem. The risotto will wait patiently, covered on lowest heat, while you finish the rest of the cooking. If it has dried out a bit, you may stir in a little more liquid right before serving. I usually sprinkle some slivered, toasted almonds on top, because I like a little crunch with the smooth, but that's not the traditional Thing To Do.

Two hours before dinner???!! I make risotto with arborio rice and it takes 30-35 minutes to make absolutely wonderful risotto.

I guess everything happens slower in my house. I'm not sure I can even cook plain old boiled rice in 30 minutes! Really, I usually start the risotto process 2 hours ahead, and am typically done w/ 15-30 minutes to spare.

The main reason for using Dried Porcini is two-fold, most people don't have ready access to fresh, and the mushroomy goodness of the soaking water!! You can use fresh if you have them, just sautee them first, or substitute any other kind of mushroom. Here are two favorites in our house. The second one is a variation on the Risotto that was served to His Holiness last time he was in NYC. It had Fava Beans, and we don't really care for them, so I omitted.

PORCINI MUSHROOM RISOTTO

5 Ounces Dried Porcini Mushrooms
2 Cups Boiling Water
7 Cups Chicken Broth
2 Tablespoons Butter
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Cup Chopped Onion
4 Cloves Garlic, minced
2 Cups Uncooked Arborio Rice
1 Cup Dry White Wine
1 Teaspoon Dried Thyme,
1 Bay Leaf
1 Cup Grated Fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese
¼ Teaspoon Salt
¼ Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Combine Mushrooms and Water in a bowl and cover. Let stand 30 minutes, or until tender. Drain Mushrooms and strain soaking liquid through a coffee filter and add to the Chicken Stock. Chop Mushrooms and set aside. Bring Chicken Stock and Mushroom Liquid to a simmer, keep warm over low heat.

Heat butter and Oil in a large saucepan. Add Onion and Garlic and cook until Onions are tender. Add Rice cook one minute, stirring constantly. Add Wine and cook 2 minutes, or until absorbed, stirring constantly. Stir in Mushrooms, Thyme and Bay Leaf. Add Broth ½ cup at a time, stirring constantly until absorbed before adding the next portion. This should take about 25 minutes total. Remove Bay leaf, stir in Cheese, Salt and Pepper. Serve immediately.

THE POPES RISOTTO

3 Tablespoons Extra-virgin Olive Oil
6 Scallions, minced
2½ Cups Arborio Rice
½ Cup Dry White Wine
6½ Cup Hot Chicken Stock
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Pound Fresh Asparagus, cut into 1" chunks and blanched
2 Tablespoons Butter, cut into bits
1 Cup Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste

In a heavy wide casserole over medium heat, heat the oil. Cook Scallions and Shallots until translucent. Add the Rice and stir to coat, and cook until edges become translucent, about 2 minutes. Add Wine and cook until absorbed, stirring constantly. Ad Salt and ½ cup Stock, stirring constantly until Stock is absorbed. Continue adding Stock ½ cup at a time, stirring constantly until about half has been added. Stir in the Asparagus and continue adding the Stock until the Rice has absorbed it all. Rice should simmer very gently and become creamy but al dente. This should take about 18 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat, add Butter and stir until melted. Stir in half the Cheese and taste to correct seasonings. Sprinkle with remaining Cheese and serve immediately.

Steve

It must happen slower in my house too. I've never made it in under an hour even though some of the TV chefs say it only takes "about 20 minutes". They'd be eating some very crunchy rice at my house after only 20 minutes!

Thanks for all the advice! I really appreciate it.

Ive only had mushroom risotto in restaurants and I love it. I was going to serve it with grilled Filet Mignon (just got a new grill!) and Strawberry salad, but my Step Daughter will be joining us she doesnt like mushrooms (silly girl!). So, baked potatoes tonight, and the Mushroom Risotto will go with the Bourbon Planked Salmon tomorrow night. :-)

Wow, those are some "Speed Risotto" recipes!

"This should take about 25 minutes total"

"This should take about 18 minutes"

How are these recipes so fast?

My theory - only a theory - is that what I'm (facetiously) calling "speed risotto" uses the melted cheese to quickly create a creamy texture.

Risotto without cheese uses starch from the rice to create the creamy texture, hence the longer cooking. Also, stirring "constantly" probably speeds things up. Maybe I shouldn't be so lazy.

Finally, in reading about risotto, I found this:

"A traditional risotto is done when the grains are soft on the outside and slightly crunchy on the inside, but some people prefer the rice to be soft all the way through."

I've always cooked until the rice is entirely soft. But then I add back crunch with the almonds, so maybe I should rethink my process.

My dinner waits for the risotto....not the other way around. If risotto stands it absorbs all the "creamy" stuff and gets to be a mushy mass. That's why lots of people don't like risotto.
I expect it takes me most of an hour to make rissoto, including chopping and browning and stirring.
I put EVOO and butter in heavy pan (I use my le cruset small Dutch oven) fairly high ehat and I sautee the rice until it begins to turn whitish....then add the chopped onion and chopped mushrooms ( I use finely chopped portobellas at this point) and cook and stir until the mushrooms have given up their liquid and that has mostly evaporated. Then I add a small glass of white wine and stir, and when that is absorbed add some sliced mushrooms and warm chicken broth...stir...add...stir...you know the bit....and when the rice is tender to the tooth, I add one last ladle of broth, the grated cheese, turn off the heat, plate the rest of the meal and plate the risotto. It should not be a "glob" like mashed potatoes on your plate but rather like a puddle with some creamy stuff around it.
Linda C

My aborio rice is soft all the way through in about 30-35 minutes. I stir constantly and add hot broth when the rice gets fairly dry. I don't use cheese in the rice, except to sprinkle some parm on it before serving.

Now, including chopping, etc., yes, an hour for all, but cooking never exceeds 35 min. The recipe I use came from the Cooking forum probably 5 years ago. I'll post it later. It is better than anything I've gotten in restaurants.

The length of cooking time is also a function of the quantity of rice you use. This is the basic recipe I've made for years but it only makes two servings using 3/4 cup of rice. When I double or triple the recipe, it takes much longer than 30 - 35 minutes because I still add the broth 1/4 cup at a time.

CHAMPAGNE RISOTTO serves 2

1 1/2 Tbs. sweet unsalted butter
1 small yellow onion, minced
3/4 cup Arborio rice
1/4 cup champagne (can substitute dry white wine)
1 1/2 cups hot chicken broth
1/4 tsp. saffron threads, softened in 1/4 cup of the broth
1/4 tsp. salt
dash of freshly ground pepper
1 Tbs. heavy cream, at room temperature
2 Tbs. freshly grated parmesan cheese

Melt the butter in a 3 or 4 cup saucepan with a heavy bottom and gently cook the onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and, stirring, cook over medium heat about 4 minutes. Add the champagne and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Add the 1/4 cup of the broth with the saffron and the salt and pepper. Stir well and cook uncovered over low heat until all the broth has been absorbed by the rice. Add another 1/4 cup of broth, let the rice absorb it up; continue adding broth, 1/4 cup at a time, until the broth is used up. This takes about 30-35 minutes.

When the rice is done tender but slightly chewy- stir in the cream and the cheese. Serve immediately.

Another under-an-hour risotto here. My sequence is different than Linda's though. I saute the aromatics, then add the rice, then the wine, then the liquid, and then when it seems appropriate whatever else I'm adding.

John - Maybe you're letting it get drier between additions of broth than needed? Cheese might add creaminess but it won't affect cooking time. When the rice is done it's done. Before that it's not done. And yes, I recommend go for al dente next time and see if you like it. That's definitely my preference.

Beachlily - Looking forward to your recipe.

Would constant stirring make a difference in cooking time?

ruthanna's recipe is for 3/4 cup of rice and takes 30-35 min with (if I am reading it right) limited stirring. That is for al dente rice.
steve's recipes are for 2 to 2 1/2 cups of rice and takes 18-25 minutes with constant stirring. Also for rice al dente.

I usually make it with 2 cups of rice, limited stirring though increasing at the end, and it takes at least 1 1/2 hours of cooking time. That is for soft-all-the-way-through rice. (That is white rice. Wild rice takes me longer.)

Don't know the answer to that. Mine simply doesn't take that long, no matter how much I stir. (Like you, I tend to stir more constantly in the second half of cooking.) But your comment about white versus wild rice has me wondering - what kind of rice are you using? "Risotto" rice is a medium grain rice, Arborio or similar.

I stir mine quite a bit more often than only each time I add the broth.

I don't find it takes much longer to cook 2 cups of rice than to cook 1 cup....just maybe a little longer at the beginning when you parch the rice and maybe 2 more minutes when you bring the whole mess to a simmer.
Yeah...I stir a lot. Not constantly, but more than now and then.
But even with chopping onion and mincing garlic and chopping and slicing mushrooms.....and grating the parm or Romano (which I have used the last couple of times and really like) it comes in at under an hour.
Linda C

Okay, I made risotto tonight. Olive oil, 1 cup of arborio rice, half an onin, 3 garlic cloves, about 1 cup of white wine, water, 2 pats of butter, truffle salt, white pepper. Used a bit more heat that I would usually have done, and stirred constantly. It took 51 minutes from start to finish, the first 5 was prepping. The rice was al dente after about 40 minutes, but SWMBO and daughter-Spawn rejected it. They want what they want, I guess. But I do now see how Speed Risotto works! Well, semi-Speed, anyway.

The first recipe came from the Cooking Forum (before I saved names with the recipe) and the second recipe is from one of my favorite Italian restaurants. The recipes are amazingly similar, and I used both to get to the risotto we both love.

MY FAVORITE RISOTTO
Easy, yummy and takes about 30 min.

Sauté ½ an onion and 1/3 (or more!) of a cup of chopped Portobello mushroom in 3 T. butter. When soft, add a crushed (or grated with my new Micorplane and its "thingey!) clove of garlic and a cup of aborio rice.

Cook and stir a few minutes until every grain is coated with the butter. Add ½ cup dry white wine.

Have ready a quart of heated chicken broth.

When the wine is absorbed start adding the broth about ½ cup at a time, and stirring over a medium flame.

As each batch of broth is absorbed, add more broth when the broth is almost all added, test the rice for "crunch" if there is no crunch, but a bit of a bite chewey texture, its done. Finish with a handful of fresh chopped parsley and a generous grating of parmesan on each serving.

Compare this informal recipe to a recipe from one smy favorite restaurants:

RICCARDOS RISOTO WITH ASPARAGUS TIPS

1.5 lb. asparagus
6 cups chicken broth
6 Tbs. butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2.5 cups Arborio rice
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup Parmesan cheese
Salt to taste

Select thinnest asparagus available. Clean and cut off tips. Cut stems into ½" pieces. Heat broth in medium saucepan. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in large saucepan. When butter foams, add chopped onion . Sauté over medium heat until onion is pale yellow. Add rice and mix well. When rice is coated with butter, add wine. Cook, stirring constantly, until wine has been absorbed by the rice. Stir in 1 cup of broth or enough to barely cover the rice. Stir over medium heat until broth is absorbed. Add more broth, a cup at a time, stirring each time, until the liquid is absorbed. After 10 minutes, add the asparagus tips. Continue cooking and stirring, adding broth a little at a time, until the rice is done, approximately another 10 minutes. You may not use all of the broth. Rice should be tender but firm to bite. Add freshly grated Parmesan cheese and remaining butter. Mix gently. Season with salt. Place in warm dish and serve immediately with additional Parmesan cheese. Serves 6.

Here are the two recipes shown above, only without the dorky symbols. Johnlieu, the difference in timing is probably due to using hot broth during the cooking process.

MY FAVORITE RISOTTO
Easy, yummy and takes about 30 min.

Saute half an onion and 1/3 (or more!) of a cup of chopped Portobello mushroom in 3 T. butter. When soft, add a crushed (or grated with my new Microplane and its âthingey!) clove of garlic and a cup of aborio rice.

Cook and stir a few minutes until every grain is coated with the butter. Add half a cup of dry white wine.

Have ready a quart of heated chicken broth.

When the wine is absorbed, start adding the broth about half a cup at a time, and stirring over a medium flame.

As each batch of broth is absorbed, add more broth. When the broth is almost all added, test the rice for âcrunchâ. If there is no crunch, but a bit of a bite (chewy texture), itâs done. Finish with a handful of fresh chopped parsley and a generous grating of parmesan on each serving.

Compare this informal recipe to a recipe from my favorite restaurant:

RICCARDOS RISOTO WITH ASPARAGUS TIPS

1.5 lb. asparagus
6 cups chicken broth
6 Tbs. butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2.5 cups Arborio rice
0.5 cups dry white wine
0.5 cups Parmesan cheese
Salt to taste

Select thinnest asparagus available. Clean and cut off tips. Cut stems into half inch pieces. Heat broth in medium saucepan. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in large saucepan. When butter foams, add chopped onion . Saute over medium heat until onion is pale yellow. Add rice and mix well. When rice is coated with butter, add wine. Cook, stirring constantly, until wine has been absorbed by the rice. Stir in 1 cup of broth or enough to barely cover the rice. Stir over medium heat until broth is absorbed. Add more broth, a cup at a time, stirring each time, until the liquid is absorbed. After 10 minutes, add the asparagus tips. Continue cooking and stirring, adding broth a little at a time, until the rice is done, approximately another 10 minutes. You may not use all of the broth. Rice should be tender but firm to bite. Add freshly grated Parmesan cheese and remaining butter. Mix gently. Season with salt. Place in warm dish and serve immediately with additional Parmesan cheese. Serves 6.

Sadly, my mushroom risotto failed. :-( I didnt time it, but it took more than an hour to prep and cook and it was undercooked when plated. :-( I was so worried about over cooking it, I blew it. The planked salmon was overcooked but still tasty. The planked asparagus was perfect!

Its ok Im a novice cook and will learn from this and move on. Im half tempted to keep trying new recipes until I have them mastered before moving on. My DH my have to suffer mushroom risotto every other night for a while...

Always taste the risotto before calling it "done"...It may look done and it may have absorbed a quart of broth...but it may still be crunchy. chewey is good, crunchy is not!
Try again before you forget what you did.
Linda C

"Im half tempted to keep trying new recipes until I have them mastered before moving on."

Absolutely! Cooking is a learned skill like any other, so naturally practice makes perfect.

The good thing is, probably all you need to do is cook/stir the risotto for a while longer, tasting as you go, so it is very likely your next one will be perfect. Was the taste good, even if the texture wasn't?

When - not if - I blow a recipe, I make it again as soon as possible. Get back on the horse, and all that.

I went to a cooking class w/ a friend who is the best cook I know, we learned how to make gnocchi, he went home and made gnocchi every night for a week straight and now he is the gnocchi master. I didn't, so I have no idea how to make gnocchi. He put in the work, I didn't, I learned a lesson.

Thanks! I will make things over and over until I master them now that I know Im not crazy!

Part of my problem is learning "al dente". I wanted the rice to be al dente before adding the mushroom mix to the rice with one last ladle of broth. Obviously, I was way short of al dente. I did try it I just blew it. So, I really need the practice to learn this part of it.

I did use the Tyler Florence recipe did you read it? All those wonderful flavors how could it go wrong? But I really felt like it was missing something at the end. I ended up adding a lot of salt which helped the flavor, but it was not the um-um good I was expecting and hoping for.

Just read the recipe. It looks good, actually.

To up the flavour, I would:

- Brown the mushrooms more deeply (not just "lightly"), and after you are done w/ the first step (browning the onion, garlic, mushroom) and setting it aside, I would deglaze the pan w/ wine, scrape up all the yummy browned bits ("fond"), and use that wine w/ the dissolved yummy bits as part of the liquid that you cook the rice in later. Do this in a normal pan, not a non-stick, since it is hard to get fond in a non-stick pan.

- Similarly, use the liquid that you reconstituted the dried mushrooms in, as part of the rice-cooking liquid. Use something to hold the mushrooms down in the liquid so that you can use less liquid. The liquid need not be water, you can reconstitute mushrooms in chicken broth or even in wine. Either of those have more flavour than plain water. If you're trying to up flavour, you want to replace plain water with something tastier.

- When cooking the rice, try using more wine, e.g. instead of 8 cups chicken browth use 3 cups white wine and 5 cups of combined chicken broth, deglazed wine/yummy bits, and mushroom soaking liquid. The rice will taste too "wine-y" at first, but the wine flavour will mellow as you cook.

- Use more butter, e.g. add a bit of butter each time you add broth or wine, totaling maybe 2-3 pats of butter.

- If you really want to go to town, you can reduce the wine and the chicken broth before using it, e.g. instead of 3 cups of wine, you start with 6 cups, reduce it (boil it down) to 3 cups, then start adding that reduced wine to the rice, and ditto with the broth. Reduction concentrates flavour. This is a hassle and will make your risotto a multi-hour project, so I wouldn't bother unless you really want an intensely flavoured risotto, which is a matter of personal taste.

- If you're trying to get flavour as rich as your favorite restaurant risotto, note that most restaurants don't care about your health, so they can add untold amounts of butter. And salt.

- Add the set-aside mushrooms, onion, garlic to the rice about 2/3rd of the way through the rice-cooking process (not at the very end), so that those flavours have plenty of rice to get into the rice.

See how that works. Oh, remember the "8 cups" is just a start, use as much liquid as you need to get the rice to the consistency you want. It might be more than 8 cups.

Thanks John - you've been so kind and helpful. I will master this as I love mushroom risotto. My goal (albeit long range) is to cook so many delicious things that we never want to go out. :-)

I have learned a lot about risotto from this thread. Thanks for starting it.

In a cooking class I took, the chef recommended using 2 or 3 different kinds of stock so as not to overwhelm the risotto with the stock flavor; I think we used vegetable & veal. Usually, I use part veal & part chicken or whatever I have in the freezer but homemade definitely makes a big difference in the flavor. And good veal stock will add to the silky finish.

Jeri, instead of having risotto as a side dish, try making it a Sunday night, one skillet type meal. That way you can concentrate on the stirring, etc without being pulled away for the entree or trying to time both to finish at the same time. No matter how you serve it, though, IMO mis en place is critical to a smooth preparation - there's nothing more hectic than trying to grate/measure cheese while you watch/stir/add to the rice at just the right moment or you burn it.

Thats a good idea to make it a main dish at least until I have it mastered. When I order it from my favorite place it is the main dish. I was trying to do too much the other night (grilling fish and veggies outside at the same time) - perhaps part of my problem was not stirring it enough.

I will keep at it. :-)

I had never had really wonderful risotto until I went to Venice.
I mean I had eaten good risotto and I liked it just fine....but not that lap it up, oh my cant' get enough of it, until Venice.
The first bout was at a very famous restaurant about 25 paces off the Piazza San Marco, full of old transparent Venitian mirrors, 2 floors, many small rooms and fabulous food.
The risotto that night was served as a separate course, in place of the pasta before the fish and before the meat. It was a very rich beef and mushroom broth with bits of beef floating in it. I ate almost all of it....at the risk of leaving most of was yet to come.
I think the secret to a really fabulous risotto in the broth.
Linda C

Well, I don't do beef, period. The chicken broth (organic) provides a very delicate touch.

I am so fortunate to have the recipes from the Italian restaurant that my husband and I enjoyed so much! The eldest son would go to Italy every year and take classes to keep their food honest. They closed the restaurant about 5 years ago, after being in business 35 years. The best thing about it, I have the son's cell phone number. Don't need an excuse to call, but think I'll call him next week to find out where he is and how he is doing. I loved that place so much I could tell at first bite who had prepared my food! Very funny, to me at least!

That sounds like a great place, and very nice people, Beachlily. I bet they'd love to hear from you.

There's a couple of videos out there (at least) showing some techniques to making risotto. One is by Mario Batali, (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/02/dining/02mini.html?_r=1) and he's making asparagus risotto. He doesn't actually stir all that much. The other is Tom Colicceo, making roasted tomato risotto. I made that the other night, and it was quite good. In this video he shows his way of telling when the risotto is done. The only change I made to his recipe was to use vegetable broth.

I'll put a link to that video below, but I don't know how to do more than one link, so I just included the address for the Batali video above. )

(By the way, I stumbled across that website when I did a search for tomato risotto [I have an abundance of tomatoes right now]. It looks like a pretty cool website, but I haven't had or taken the time to explore it further.)

Sally

Those videos are cool.

See how much butter Batali uses, both at the beginning and at the end. Probably 3X the amount of butter I use for that rather small amount of rice. Not a small amount of cheese, either. I'll bet that risotto tastes good, but in my opinion if you're having risotto semi-regularly at home, you want to get yumminess with less fat. I love his holy spoon - I'm going to take a drill to one of mine.

Batali has to use that much butter to keep his lovely figure!

Sally

Thanks to this thread, I've been playing around with upping the flavour of risotto.

- Rehydrating dried mushrooms, pureeing those mushrooms and a little of their soaking liquid, and adding the purée to the rice.
- Cutting lardons and adding that to the initial saute of onions and rice.
- Adding two cubes of frozen demi glacé.

Each of these works pretty well. Combining two works better. I haven't tried all three tricks together yet. I guess one could get a flavour bomb of a risotto that way.