Wild Mushroom Risotto

An old favorite from Chez Panisse Cooking, Paul Bertolli with Alice Waters

I was listening to the Good Food podcast's farmer's market report and heard that the boletes or porcini mushrooms were in very fine form this time of year. I happened to stop at the Mushroom store at the Ferry building that afternoon and picked some up. I got the $5 basket which they said were not top notch, but they looked pretty good to me.



4 to 6 cups raw wild mushrooms (chanterelles, horns of plenty, dentinum, boletes)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
salt and pepper
2 shallots (2 ounces), finely diced
1-1/2 cups arborio rice
2 oz pancetta, diced
1 cup dry white wine
1-1/2 quarts turkey or chicken broth
1 tblsp chopped fresh italian parsley
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme

Brush off any dirt from the mushrooms with a small vegetable brush. Use a knife to cut away any implanted dirt. Slice the mushrooms. Melt 2 tblspn of the butter in a saute pan, add the mushrooms, salt and pepper them, and cook for 8 to 15 minutes (this depends on how much moisture they contain) until nearly all of the liquid they release has evaporated. You should end up with approximately 2 cups mushrooms. Set aside.

Melt 2 more tblspn of the butter in a 6-quart noncorroding pot. Add the shallots and let them soften over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the rice and the pancetta and cook for 3 minutes, stirring often. Do not allow the rice to brown. Stir in the wine and allow it to nearly evaporate. Then begin making the broth additions. Add only enough broth to maintain the level just above the rice. Maintain a gentle simmer and add broth when the level begins to drop but before the previously added amoung has been entirely absorbed. Stir the rice often, before and after each addition.

After 15 minutes, raise the heat and add the mushrooms. Readjust the heat so that the rice simmers. Cook for about 5 minutes more. During the final cooking, make broth additions judiciously and taste the rice frequently to gauge its progress. When it is nearly done (chewy but not firm in the center) stir in the remaining 4 tblspn butter and make any final corrections of salt and pepper. The risotto should be unified so taht the sauce does not separate form the rice, but should not be so reduced taht the rice becomes thick. The consistency should be nearly pourable. Stir in the fresh herbs and serve in warm bowls.