Melt two tablespoons of vegan butter into a wide pot. Once frothy, add the mushrooms and cook until all of the liquid releases and evaporates. Depending on the size of your pot, you may need to cook the mushrooms in batches. Depending on the mushroom variety, this will take anywhere from 18–20 minutes.

Continue cooking until the mushrooms crisp up and take on a deep, golden color. If you cooked the mushrooms in batches, add all of them back to the pot and season with salt and pepper.

Next, add the minced green garlic or garlic cloves to the cooked mushrooms along with the dry thyme and cook until just fragrant.

Add the arborio rice to the pot of mushrooms and cook until it toasts slightly, about 2 minutes.

Begin adding the warm liquid in 1-cup increments, agitating the rice, and adding more liquid only after the rice has absorbed all the liquid in the pot. You'll need 5 to 7 cups and about 40 minutes of regular stirring. Turn off the heat once the risotto takes on a creamy texture and the rice is al dente. If using water, season the risotto liberally with salt and pepper. If using vegetable stock, you may not need as much salt.

Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter.

Let the risotto rest off the heat for five minutes.

Stir the juice from half a lemon into the risotto if you like. Garnish with fresh parsley and lemon wedges from the other half of the lemon. Enjoy!