Risotto with Baked Mushrooms?

I think baking the mushrooms would affect the risotto in a negative way. 

First, my technique is different than yours: I sautee the mushrooms first, then leave them on during the entire process. That way they infuse their flavor to the broth, and in the end even if you only take a fork-full of rice without mushrooms, you can still taste the mushrooms. 

Even if you remove the mushrooms the way you currently do, sauteeing them in the pan where you will then make the risotto will transmit some of their flavor to the rice. That's because they'll create some fond or leave some liquid in the pan. Additionally in my opinion baked mushrooms wouldn't work as well as sauteed mushrooms for a risotto. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by StefanT 

I've previously made mushroom risotto the traditional way: sauteeing the mushrooms first, removing then while I prepare the rice, and then adding the mushrooms back once the rice is ready.

 

Has anyonetried to simply bake the mushrooms seperately while you cook the arborio and then combining them afterwards? Any thoughts on how it'd affect the dish?

 

Thanks!

It's possible, I do it all the time.
 

For flavoring the risotto itself I buy dried mushrooms in varieties I can't find fresh - porcini, chanterelles, whatever I can find.  I soak these in very hot water for about a half hour and then use the mushroom stock to flavor the risotto, along with chicken stock. I also chop up the rehydrated mushrooms very very finely and add them to the rice as it cooks.  Just using dried mushrooms alone will give you a risotto that is packed full of flavor.

But for texture and presentation I sautee fresh mushrooms.  I do not roast them, they do not garnish enough texture this way.  I sautee them hot and fast in small batches only a handful goes in the pan along with a pinch of minced garlic, thyme, and olive oil.  Very hot heat, keep them moving, and they'll get a nice crust.  You can also grill them for more depth of flavor.  Remove to a bowl and when you've cooked all the batches toss in to the mushrooms a little bit of fresh parsley and about 5-6 drops of fresh lemon juice to spruce them up.  I like to serve these on top of the risotto.

Mushroom powder might be something handy for you as well. Buy some dried Chinese Black Mushrooms. Buy the cheap ones, not the expensive ones with the pretty caps.

Break them up a bit and grind to a powder in a spice mill, cheap coffee grinder or even a food processor. If you use the food processor you'll want to pick out the big bits.  add a dried porcini if you want to punch the flavor a little more to your ground mix.

I keep mushroom powder in my spice jar and use it to punch up the savory meatiness of dishes and with mushroom dishes as well. You could shake some in with the onions and rice as you saute them at the beginning of the risotto while your mushrooms are baking. Gives you the flavor commingling and the time savings you're looking for.