I had spinach and extra white wine hanging around so I thought I should make some spinach risotto. Risotto is very easy to prepare but you do have to keep stirring it vigorously for about 20 minutes straight. If you are ok with that then you can make risotto. Risotto is the one of the foods that doesn’t freeze well and one of the few foods where as a leftover it’s not as good as the original unless you re-purpose the risotto into fried risotto balls………so you try to make what you need…….Anyways this is probably the best tasting risotto you ever had…I know this because when we go out to eat most other risotto isn’t as layered with flavors as mine is….I usually make mushroom risotto with mushroom stock because that’s my favorite but this Spinach Risotto is also very good.

Ingredients for around 5 servings

1/2 large sweet onion – finely chopped – ideally rice sized

1 cup risotto rice ( I used arborio)

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 cup dry white wine

2 garlic cloves – ground to paste or microplane

5 cups hot vegetable stock (actually you need 4-5 cups…this you have to eye ball for yourself at the end of cooking. If I only used 4 cups the risotto will turn dry for my leftovers so I use 5 cups so the leftovers are better)

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

pinch saffron

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground black peppet

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

a few grates fresh nutmeg

8 oz fresh spinach leaves

Directions

In a pot on medium high (towards high) heat add the oil and butter and when they are hot add the rice and onions….stir…stir…stir. Fry them up but don’t brown till onions are soft and clear.stir…stir …stir. Add garlic..stir..stir..stir…when you can smell the garlic add the wine.stir.stir.stir. After the wine absorbs add about a cup of hot stock and stir. stir. stir till it absorbs and repeat till you get 4 cups of stock in. At this point you can add the basil, thyme, saffron, peppers, and cheese….stir. stir. stir. Now stir in the spinach. The rice should be soft….ideally you want the rice slightly al dente…The risotto might start tightening up. Decide NOW if you need to add a little more stock……Most likely you will add some if not all of the cup.

I don’t think you will need any spice adjustments. Some people might want to serve with grated cheese but I don’t think anymore is needed.

Enjoy!