Lee’s Mushroom Risotto

Lee is really good at making risotto. That’s really the description for this one.

Ingredients

4 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1 bay leaf
1 ½ cups arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
4 tablespoons butter, divided
8 ounces mushrooms, (we use baby Bella, Shiitake, and Oyster) slice large mushrooms and half or quarter small ones
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 thyme sprigs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for serving
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
coarse kosher salt, to taste

Warm chicken stock in a small saucepan.
In a large pot on medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add onion, celery, and bay leaf and cook for 3-4 minutes to soften.
Add Arborio rice and saute until rice becomes translucent about 2 minutes.
Pour in the wine, deglazing the bottom of the pot, and cook for an additional 3 minutes or until the rice has completely absorbed the wine.
Reduce heat to medium-low and using a soup ladle, slowly add chicken stock to the pot, one ladle at a time, stirring continuously. Allow rice to completely absorb the liquid before adding the next ladle full. Continue this process until all of the stock is gone, about 20 minutes.
While cooking the rice, heat a saute pan over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of butter. When butter melts, add mushrooms, garlic, and thyme and cook over medium-low heat for 10-12 minutes.
Once the rice has absorbed all the stock, remove from heat and discard bay leaf. Remove thyme sprigs from mushrooms and add to the rice, along with remaining 3 tablespoons of butter, and parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper, to taste and stir to combine.
To serve, divide between plates with additional grated Parmesan cheese on the side.