Mushroom and truffle risotto with green chile and spinach

Prep: 25 minutes Soak: 20 minutes Cook: 1 hour Makes: 6 servings

Extra risotto reheats well in the microwave. Or, heat a skillet with olive oil and add the cold, cooked risotto to heat it and crisp it at the edges.

1to1½ ounces dried sliced mushrooms, such as sliced porcini, or small whole morel or shiitake (or a combination)

8 cups low-sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 shallots, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

8 ounces button or cremini mushrooms, ends trimmed, halved, thinly sliced

1 can (4 ounces) diced green chiles, drained

2 cups arborio or carnaroli rice

1 can (6.4 ounces) black truffle and mushroom sauce, see note

4 cups baby spinach (2.5 to 3 ounces)

1 cup finely shredded (not grated) Parmesan cheese

Salt, freshly ground black pepper to taste

Garnishes:

Large Parmesan shavings, optional

Chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 bottled truffle (about ½ ounce), finely chopped, optional

Truffle oil or salt, optional

1. Put dried mushrooms into a small bowl and cover with very hot water. Let stand until softened, about 20 minutes.

2. Strain mushroom-soaking water through a fine mesh sieve or coffee filter into a medium saucepan. Add broth. Roughly chop the soaked mushrooms and set aside.

3. Heat a large (3 ½- to 4-quart) saucepan over medium heat. Add oil and shallots; saute until soft, 3 minutes. Stir in garlic; saute 1 minute. Add sliced fresh mushrooms; saute until golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in soaked mushrooms and green chile. (Recipe can be made to this point up to two days in advance; refrigerate mushroom base and broth separately.)

4. Heat broth mixture over low heat to a simmer. Reduce heat to very low.

5. Reheat mushroom mixture in large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in rice; cook, stirring, to toast the grains, 2 minutes. Stir in black truffle and mushroom sauce. Heat mixture thoroughly, about 3 minutes.

6. Ladle in about ½ cup of the hot broth mixture. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the rice has absorbed the liquid. Stir in another ½ cup broth and repeat the process, adding about ½ cup broth at a time, until the rice has absorbed all of the broth and is nearly tender to the bite. The whole process takes about 25 minutes.

7. Stir in spinach and shredded Parmesan. Taste and adjust seasonings with salt and black pepper. Top with Parmesan shavings and parsley. Serve right away, garnished with truffle and truffle oil or truffle salt, if using.

Note: Urbani Truffle’s black truffle and mushroom sauce is available online and at some specialty retailers. If it is not available, use an extra ounce or two of dried mushrooms as directed and an additional 4 ounces of fresh mushrooms. A little drizzle of truffle oil or sprinkle of truffle salt tastes good here, too.

Nutrition information per serving: 424 calories, 11 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 18 mg cholesterol, 63 g carbohydrates, 4 g sugar, 20 g protein, 505 mg sodium, 6 g fiber