Spinach Risotto

I remember it like it was yesterday, the first time I made this
risotto. Using my mom’s copy of “Cooking for Madam”, I
set about making the complex rice dish, having only cooked by myself a handful
of times, and ended up discovering a true calling.

I wish I had some ghastly, cautionary tale regarding that
experience, but I honestly don’t. The risotto was delicious and only served to
further propel me towards deeper and deeper foodie love. Reading the recipes
and stories in that cookbook by Jackie Kennedy’s former personal chef
solidified and intensified my love of cooking and my desire to become a chef.
The idea of traveling the world and cooking for fabulous dinner parties and
quiet get-togethers sounded too good to be true (and still kinda does). This
book seriously started it all for me.

Who knows? Maybe this recipe will do something equally profound in
your own life. Or maybe it’ll just be really yummy. Either way, it’s worth a
shot!

Before starting anything actually rice-related, you’ll be chopping
an onion and crying quietly to yourself because you don’t have any garlic.

Once you’ve recovered,
heat a rather substantial amount of olive oil in a saucepan and cook the onion
until it’s softened and slightly browned.

After the onion has been
sufficiently cooked, toss in some Arborio rice and stir to coat it thoroughly
with the olive oil.

Now it’s time to add some white wine. For the amount specified in
this recipe, using some of those little bottles is much more convenient that
opening a regular bottle.

Once the wine has mostly cooked away, it’s time to add some chicken
broth, which you already have waiting at the ready. Seeing as you’ll be adding
the broth…ugh, I don’t like that word. Broth. It just sounds weird. I’m going
to say “stock” from now on.

Anyway, you’ll be adding the stock in about
one-cup increments, waiting for the rice to absorb it before adding more. For
this reason, pour the chicken stock into a microwaveable container and heat
until it’s warm, so it won’t reduce the temperature too much every time you add
it to the risotto.

After about 20 minutes, once the rice has absorbed about 4-5 cups
of stock, you’ll have something that looks like this.

If you want to continue with the spinach (which I highly
recommend), place about ½ cup of fresh spinach leaves in a blender (or your
infomercialicious Magic Bullet like me) and add a bit of water, blending them
until liquefied.

I’m using a lot of parenthesis this post.

After mixing in a bit of Parmesan cheese into the still-hot
risotto, pour in the pureed spinach and stir to combine.

And there you have it! Spinach risotto that would make the Grinch
beam with pride.

Spinach Risotto

Recipe adapted from
“Cooking for Madam” by Marta Sgubin and Nancy Nicholas

Printable Recipe

½ cup Olive Oil

1 medium Onion, finely
chopped

2 cloves Garlic, minced

1 ½ cups Arborio Rice

5 cups Chicken Stock

½ cup White Wine

½ cup Parmesan Cheese

½ cup fresh Spinach

Heat the olive oil in a
heavy 3-quart saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until golden brown,
then add the rice and cook for a minute or so, stirring so that each grain is
coated with oil. Meanwhile, heat the stock. Add the wine to the rice and cook
until it has evaporated, then start adding the stock. Pour in a little at a
time, just enough so the rice is covered, then cook, stirring constantly, until
the stock has been absorbed. Continue to add stock until the rice is the right
consistency-al dente. This should take about 20 minutes.
Begin tasting after 15 minutes. You may not need to use all the stock, but
judge by the texture of the rice, not the amount of liquid.

While the rice is still
hot, stir in Parmesan cheese.

Wash the spinach leaves,
then put them, still wet, into a blender and liquefy them. You may need to add
a tiny bit more water. Add the puree to the rice and stir it in. The rice will
become a nice green color.

Serve at once with a
little bit more Parmesan cheese.