Risotto is one of my nemesis foods.  I have made it and it was fine but it was never as good as risottos (or is it risotti?) I have had out.  I don’t know why.  Maybe if I tried again it would be fine but… it’s annoying.  I don’t want to stand over a pot and stir and simmer, and continue to stir while simmering, while continuing to add broth.  Annoying.

Well, I follow @storeboughtisfine on Instagram.  I love this person!  I think his name is Trent and he is a huge Ina Garten fan, just like me!  He is doing a Julie and Julia style project where he is going through all of Ina’s cookbooks and cooking ALL of the recipes. LOVE IT!  He posts stuff all the time and is honest about what turns out, what he likes and what he doesn’t.  Spoiler alert- pretty much everything is amazing.  A couple of months ago he posted a pic of Ina’s Easy Parmesan Risotto recipe.  He said it was delicious and so easy.  I believed him and gave it a whirl.  He was right!  I definitely tweaked Ina’s recipe.  But the main thing is baking it in the oven and that part I definitely kept!

I also tweaked the flavors.  That is another great thing about this recipe, you can absolutely tailor it to your likes.  The first time I made it I separately roasted some vegetables: mainly butternut squash and a few mushrooms.  Then, when I pulled the risotto out of the oven I added the veggies, gave it a stir and voila, roasted butternut squash risotto!  The possibilities here are endless.  Do you have vegetarian friends?  Gluten-free friends? There is something for everyone with this risotto!

The recipe I am going to give you is for a mushroom risotto.  Here are most of the ingredients you will need.  (You know how much I love those little bottles of wine for cooking!)

This is super mushroomy, so if you don’t like mushrooms stick with roasted veggies to start off with or just add peas and parmesan cheese like Ina does.

This was my first time ever using dried mushrooms.  I bought a package of both porcini and shitake mushrooms.  Next time I will double the porcini and skip the shitake.  The shitake mushrooms just were too rubbery for my taste.  Maybe I did something wrong but since the others were so good, I will just stick with those.

Anyway, I put the dried mushrooms in a 4 cup measuring cup and poured in warm water.  I left them there to “steep” for almost an hour (the package said at least a 1/2 hour to an hour).

At the start

After 45 minutes

I poured the liquid through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.  Then, I removed the mushrooms, rinsed them and set aside.  This left me with some beautiful mushroom broth free of random dirt particles.

I had about 3 cups of mushroom broth.  I added 1 cup of chicken broth so I had 4 cups of liquid (you can use veggie broth if you are sticking with vegetarian risotto).

I started this dish on the stove in my Dutch oven.  Add butter to the pot and sauté some onions until they are soft.  Add some garlic and a few sliced fresh crimini (baby bella) mushrooms and continue to sauté.  Add the rice and give it a stir.

I added the rehydrated mushrooms, 4 cups of broth, some of the wine to the pot and stirred everything together.

Then I put the lid on and baked it in the oven for 40 minutes.  I took the risotto out of the oven, added the rest of the little wine bottle, 1 more cup of broth, some parmesan cheese and gave it another stir.

I let it sit there for a few minutes then topped with some fresh parsley and served right from the pot.  (You could let it sit for a while if you want, just make sure you have some extra warm broth on hand to stir in if you let it sit for more than 10 minutes so it doesn’t thicken too much.)  Look at that beautiful risotto!

I can’t wait to come up with new flavor combos and copy others that I have had at restaurants.  Crab, asparagus and corn.  Breakfast risotto.  Lobster risotto. Again, possibilities are endless!  Let me know what you come up with.

Easy Oven-Baked Mushroom Risotto

Main Course: Serves 6
Side Dish: Serves at least 10

Ingredients:
Two ½ oz packages dried Porcini Mushrooms
4 T Unsalted Butter (½ stick)
1 small Onion, chopped
Salt & Pepper
1 clove Garlic, minced
4 oz fresh Baby Bella Mushrooms, sliced
1 ½ c Arborio Rice
5 c warmed Stock, divided (Mushroom, Chicken, Vegetable or combo)
¾ c White Wine, divided
¾ c grated Parmesan Cheese
Chopped Parsley (for garnish)

Place dried mushrooms in a 4 c measuring-cup and add warm water.
Let steep for 30 – 60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350

Pour liquid and rehydrated mushrooms through a sieve lined with a coffee filter or cheese cloth.
Remove mushrooms, rinse and set aside.
Pour rehydrating liquid back into the measuring cup and add enough chicken broth so you have a total of 4 cups.
Heat broth in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, until warm.

In a Dutch oven (or other oven-proof pot) melt the butter over medium to medium-high heat.
Add onions, season with salt and pepper and sauté until soft; about 5 minutes.
Add garlic and fresh mushrooms, season with a little more salt and pepper.
Stir constantly while sautéing mushrooms for about 3-5 minutes.
Add rice and stir so all the rice is evenly coated; about 1 minute.
Add rehydrated mushrooms, stir.
Add ½ cup of wine and 4 cups of stock, stir.
Cover and bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven.

Remove risotto from the oven and carefully remove the lid.
Add the parmesan cheese and the remaining ¼ c of wine and 1 c of warm stock.
Stir, taste, adjust seasonings if necessary.
Garnish with some fresh chopped parsley and serve.

Print Recipe

Easy Oven-Baked Mushroom Risotto

A great main course or side dish!

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time40 minutes mins

Steeping Time45 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr

Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: Gluten Free, Holiday, Italian, Risotto

Servings: 6 As Main Course

Ingredients

• Two 1/2 oz pkgs dried Porcini Mushrooms
• 4 T Unsalted Butter ½ stick
• 1 small Onion chopped
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 clove Garlic minced
• 4 oz fresh Baby Bella Mushrooms sliced
• 1 ½ c Arborio Rice
• 5 c warmed Stock divided (Mushroom, Chicken, Vegetable or combo)
• ¾ c White Wine divided
• ¾ c grated Parmesan Cheese
• Chopped Parsley for garnish

Instructions

• Place dried mushrooms in a 4 c measuring-cup and add warm water.  Let steep for 30 – 60 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350
• Pour liquid and rehydrated mushrooms through a sieve lined with a coffee filter or cheese cloth.  Remove mushrooms, rinse and set aside.  Pour rehydrating liquid back into the measuring cup and add enough chicken broth so you have a total of 4 cups.  Heat broth in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, until warm.
• In a Dutch oven (or other oven-proof pot) melt the butter over medium to medium-high heat.  Add onions, season with salt and pepper and sauté until soft; about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and fresh mushrooms, season with a little more salt and pepper.  Stir constantly while sautéing mushrooms for about 3-5 minutes. Add rice and stir so all the rice is evenly coated; about 1 minute.  Add rehydrated mushrooms, stir.  Add ½ cup of wine and 4 cups of stock, stir.  Cover and bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven.
• Remove risotto from the oven and carefully remove the lid.  Add the parmesan cheese and the remaining ¼ c of wine and 1 c of warm stock.  Stir, taste, adjust seasonings if necessary.  
• Garnish with some fresh chopped parsley and serve.