Mushroom risotto

I've finally found a decent use for all the dried shittake mushrooms I had floating around in my pantry.

I brought them with me to the hotel room because, well, they're dried. It's not like they're taking up a lot of room. And the other day I picked up some portobello mushrooms from Sam's Club ($4.98 for four HUGE portobello caps). And then I thought: mushroom risotto!

I took out maybe a cup of the dried mushrooms and put them in a bowl, and poured boiling water over them. I let that sit for a while, to let the 'shrooms reconstitute. Then I sauteed two diced shallots in some truffle oil in a big pan, and added a cup of arborio rice to that. Let the rice soak up some of the oil, maybe one minute. I then added 3/4 cup white wine and the mushroom juice from the bowl.

Risotto is just a matter of letting the rice soak up the liquid. Keep adding liquid in small batches (in this case, white wine; mushroom juice; and chicken broth, in that order, although you could use veggie broth and keep this vegan/vegetarian) and stir often until the rice is plump and cooked through and the liquid is mostly gone. Add one chopped portobello mushroom cap about halfway through the process.

At the end, add a little cream and two handfuls of grated parmesan, stir well, and salt and pepper to taste. A little fresh parsley on top won't hurt, either.

So:
1 cup dried mushrooms
1 large portobello mushroom cap
1 cup arborio rice
Around 3 cups total liquid (wine/broth)
2 diced shallots
Truffle or olive oil
3 tablespoons heavy cream
2 handfuls grated parmesan