Wild Mushroom Risotto...YUM!

I went to London last March and stumbled across this amazing restaurant! Whenever I travel I always like to search for the "off the beaten path" places to eat. So during my research last year, I made it a point to find some different places...really culturalize my palette...and that is when I found Ooze! Check out their website and menu...it was amazing! A restaurant specifically dedicated to EVERYTHING (and I mean EVERYTHING) Risotto!!! I hadn't really spent a lot of my time with Risotto before my trip to London just because it is so time consuming. I knew after eating at Ooze, that I had found something that was truly an amazing food! So many combinations and yet, always delicious.

I have yet to have a Risotto dish I dislike! Since my return home, I have tried many different styles, but never really cooked it myself. When I was at Ooze I actually had their version of a mushroom risotto, and I knew I wanted to try to make it myself. It was unbelievable! Well it has taken me this long, but I finally did it!! And I couldn't believe how similar it really was to the dish I had over in London! My friend gave me the recipe which she got out of a favorite cookbook of hers...The Bride and Groom First and Forever Cookbook.

Wild Mushroom Risotto

(adapted from The Bride and Groom First and Forever Cookbook)

3 1/2 cups low sodium chicken stock

2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion diced

4 ounces baby portabella mushrooms, cleaned and diced

4 ounces agaricus mushrooms (aka white button mushrooms), cleaned and diced

**I bought two 8 ounce packages of both mushrooms and just used half of each, you could sub for your favorite mushroom**

4 garlic cloves minced (we like garlic so I added more, you could always do less)

3/4 cup arborio rice

1/2 cup white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)

1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons shredded parmesan cheese

dash of dried thyme

1 tablespoon butter

kosher salt and fresh gound pepper

Bring the stock to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover and keep the stock hot.

Heat the oil in a large heavy bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and saute, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, for 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until tender and slightly brown, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 more minutes. (I added a little salt and pepper at this part of the risotto just to allow the rice to have more flavor) Add the rice and stir well, about 30 seconds. Add the wine and simmer, stirring constantly, until the liquid is absorbed, about 2-3 minutes. Add 3/4 cup of the hot stock, reduce the heat to medium, and cook, stirring frequently, until the stock is absorbed. Add the remaining hot stock 3/4 cup at a time, stirring frequently and allowing each addition to be fully absorbed before adding more, until the rice is just tender and the risotto is creamy. This takes about 30 minutes.

Stir in the 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, dash of dried thyme, and butter. If the rice appears dry, add up to 1/4 cup water to loosen the risotto slightly. Season with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.

Divide the risotto between two large bowl and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese.

I couldn't believe how good this really was!! And I was even more amazed at how much it tasted like what I had in London. So creamy with such a good mushroom flavor! If you haven't tried risotto ... YOU MUST!!! It is so good, I promise you this food does not disappoint!!