Servings: 8

2 cups Arborio rice (do not rinse) 2 cups Arborio rice (do not rinse)
1-2 oz dried Italian Porcini mushrooms (2 is a lot) 1 to 2 oz dried Italian Porcini mushrooms (2 is a lot)
5 fresh Porcini mushrooms cut into ¼" slices (Optional) 5 fresh Porcini mushrooms cut into ¼" slices (Optional)
6 cups home made unsalted chicken stock (See Notes) 6 cups home made unsalted chicken stock (See Notes)
1 cup grated Parmigiano Regiano cheese 1 cup grated Parmigiano Regiano cheese
½ cup red wine ½ cup red wine
1 medium red onion chopped small ¼" dice 1 medium red onion chopped small ¼" dice
1-2 garlic cloves peeled and chopped finely 1 to 2 garlic cloves peeled and chopped finely
4 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley 4 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
6 tablespoons unsalted butter 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons super tasty olive oil (See Notes) 2 tablespoons super tasty olive oil (See Notes)
Freshly ground pepper Freshly ground pepper

30 minutes before starting, place the dried mushrooms in a bowl and add hot water until they are ½" under water, at least 1 cup.
While they are soaking, measure and prepare the rice, cheese, wine, onion, garlic and parsley.
Put the stock into a medium covered pot and slowly bring to a simmer.
After they have soaked for 30 minutes, stir them with your fingers to remove any sand and carefully remove them from the water. Strain this mushroom water through a fine strainer and reserve for later.
Optional: If you have the fresh Porcini, sauté them in olive oil over medium heat. After a few minutes, add ¼ cup of chicken stock and ⅛ cup of the mushroom water to help them cook through. Once the liquid is gone, add a bit more oil and sauté until they are browned.
Put the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large pot over medium heat.
Once the butter has foamed, add the onion and cook until it is very soft and has just started to change color. About XX minutes.
*From this point on you will be stirring constantly, so make sure you have all your ingredients near by. Once you start adding liquid, the goal is to stir until enough is absorbed that your spoon leaves a momentary trail on the bottom of the pan. See Notes about risotto stirring theory.
Add the garlic and stir for about 2 minutes. Do not let it burn. Really.
Add the rice and stir for about 15 seconds, but contrary to most recipes, do NOT sauté the rice in the oil. While it might add a slight toasty flavor, it limits the creaminess in my opinion.
Turn up the heat to medium and add the wine. And stir...
As soon as the wine is gone, add at least ½ cup of the stock and a pinch of kosher salt. And stir...
Once the first addition of stock is gone, add the reserved mushroom water. Add stir...
You will continue this pattern of adding ½ cup of stock, stirring until you get the spoon trail until the rice is almost al dente. Note that it will continue to cook during the final steps so don't overcook it.
About ½ through the stock, add the parsley. Most recipes add this toward the end, but I don't like the texture of fresh parsley in this dish. If you do, add ⅔ now and ⅓ toward the end.
About ⅔ through the stock, add the dried porcini. I wait on this so that they retain more of their "flavor independence".
If you are using fresh porcini, now is a good time to put them back on the heat to get them hot and a bit crispy.
Once the rice is almost al dente - you will see a tiny bit of white in the center of a piece of rice - lower the heat to low. Note that you will hopefully NOT have used all the stock at this point.
Add the rest of the butter and 1 cup of the cheese and stir until incorporated for a few minutes.
Taste and stir in salt and pepper to your liking.
Then, right before serving, add more stock to thin out the risotto so that if put on a plate it will slowly spread out across the plate. Risotto should not be dense! A fork should just barely work for eating it.
Spoon the risotto into a wide bowl, cover with fresh porcini and a generous dusting of cheese.
Boom!

Chicken Stock: I really, really feel that "real" stock is a requirement for all my recipes. That means either learn how to make your own (super easy) or find a fancy grocery store that sells stock that they make (super pricey). See my recipe for details. Chicken Stock  Chicken Stock: I really, really feel that "real" stock is a requirement for all my recipes. That means either learn how to make your own (super easy) or find a fancy grocery store that sells stock that they make (super pricey). See my recipe for details. Chicken Stock
Stirring Risotto: This is a controversial topic in the risotto world. Some people say you have to stir the whole time, some renegades say you can just stir occasionally. I'm in the traditional camp of stir, stir, stir. My theory is that you are doing two things. One you are causing more starch to come off the rice which is hugely important. Two, you are effectively convection cooking the rice which will cook it more quickly and evenly.  Stirring Risotto: This is a controversial topic in the risotto world. Some people say you have to stir the whole time, some renegades say you can just stir occasionally. I'm in the traditional camp of stir, stir, stir. My theory is that you are doing two things. One you are causing more starch to come off the rice which is hugely important. Two, you are effectively convection cooking the rice which will cook it more quickly and evenly.