Risotto with Wild Mushrooms
November 2, 2006

Risotto is the essence of comfort food and my oven version is so easy you'll want to make it week after week during the cold weather season. Typically risotto is a commitment to the stove for at least 30 minutes of stir time, which is asking too much after a hectic day or preparing to welcome guests. This recipe is baked in the oven: no stirring, no babysitting. You’ll need a Dutch oven or pot with a tight fitting lid to pull this off; I use a Staub Dutch oven. Be sure to use Arborio rice– you can buy it at the supermarket – it is loaded with the starch that creates risotto's signature creamy texture.

2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 small onion cut into a small dice
1 cup sliced fennel
8 ounces of any combination of store bought wild mushrooms
1– 8 ounce package of sliced crimini mushrooms
1 and one half cups Arborio rice 
4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
one half-cup sherry (drinking sherry NOT supermarket cooking sherry)
4 cups commercial vegetable broth
4 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
three fourths cup freshly gated Parmesan cheese; plus extra shavings for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and position middle rack. Heat oil over medium heat and add onion, fennel, mushrooms and garlic; sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Season with a few pinches of kosher salt. Stir in the rice and fold mixture together for about 2 minutes, toasting the rice. Add the sherry and simmer until liquid has almost evaporated. At this point you can prep this dish up to 2 days ahead. To complete the recipe, boil broth in a separate saucepan and immediately pour over rice. Place a sheet of foil over the pot pressing down so the foil rests on the broth. Cover pot with tight–fitting lid to seal, and bake for 35 minutes.

Remove risotto from the oven– the dish will be very hot– and place on a burner set to very low heat. Gently stir the rice and taste it: it should be creamy and slightly chewy in the center. Fold in mascarpone and Parmesan cheeses. Adjust seasoning with kosher salt. Spoon into shallow pasta dishes and top with shaved Parmesan and a twist of fresh pepper. 

Kim Dannies is a graduate of La Varenne Cooking School in France. She lives in Williston, VT with her husband, Jeff, and three college–aged daughters who come and go. ©2008