Two Mushroom Risotto (crock pot style - 2 hours)

Risotto is usually such a pain in the butt since you have to stand near the stove and stir and stir and stir and stir. But this recipe, found in Robin Robertson's Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker solves that problem by transferring the cooking to the crock pot. I love my crock pot. This allowed Craig and I to play Starfarers of Catan while dinner was cooking. (he won)

I goofed when making this, though, and didn't turn the crock pot to "high" until one hour into the cooking time. The dish was still done in two hours, and I feel, that with my crock pot, cooking for a full two hours on high would have burned the dish.

Here is the recipe with my tweaks:

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup dried porcini mushrooms
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 small onion, minced
• 1 large clove of garlic, minced
  
• 1¼ c. arborio rice
• 2 c. crimini mushrooms, chopped
• 2½ c. vegetable stock
• 1/8 c. dry sherry
• 1 tsp. dried thyme (or 2 tsp. fresh)
• 1 tsp. salt
• ½ c. freshly grated parmesan cheese (or soy parm, for a vegan option)
• freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

• Soak the porcini mushrooms in boiling water for 30 minutes. Drain, reserving soaking liquid. Chop mushrooms and set aside.
• In skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook about a minute or two, until slightly softened.
• Transfer onion mixture to crock pot. Add rice, stirring to coat rice with oil. Stir in both muchrooms, the reserved soaking liquid, stock, sherry, thyme, and salt. Cover, and cook on high until all liquid is absorbed (watch this the first time to discern the exact timing on your slow cooker).
• Stir in cheese and season with pepper.

Serve hot and enjoy.

Please leave a comment and let me know if you try this recipe.