* Spinach and Chestnut Mushroom Risotto

This risotto recipe was born of the need to use up yet more spinach... there's currently a ban on purchasing spinach, in this house. Seeing as I'm the only one that ever does any actual shopping in this household - it would appear that it's not actually the household that is banned from buying the spinach...

It's me.

I'm banned from buying spinach.

Now if only I knew how to enforce such a ban, it might actually work.

However... I'm fairly sure that the next time I'm in a supermarket (tomorrow), that a bag of spinach will unerringly find it's way into my shopping trolley - with absolutely... no. help. from. me. Really.

I love cooking (mostly) - but I don't love cooking risotto (ever). It's a labour of love. One that I can only donate time to if I have a good book. So I can stir the pot lovingly whilst reading something suitably interesting, but not so interesting that I forget to add more hot stock and the risotto drys to a crisp and has to have a half hearted burial service in the kitchen bin.

Nope.

It's got be a book that holds the attention for three minutes at a time, possibly four.

I've yet to find a book that does this. So I had to lovingly stir this particular risotto whilst singing the track to Adele:21 in my head. Got a bit carried away by the time I'd reached Set Fire To The Rain - and was singing at full blast into the spoon that was supposed to be lovingly stirring the pot...but happily, the noise did not kill our dinner.

Or our appetites.

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Serves 2

Prep time - 10 minutes
Cooking time - 35 - 40 minutes

You will need
A pan on the stove to keep the stock hot
A wide based non stick pan/skillet

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion - chopped
5oz/140g chestnut mushrooms - sliced
1 fat clove garlic - crushed
5oz/140g arborio rice
5.5 fl oz/150ml dry white wine
1 pint/500ml hot vegetable stock
1oz/25g  parmesan - freshly grated
3.5oz/100g fresh young leaf spinach - chopped
6 cherry tomatoes - halved

Method

Heat the oil in wide based non stick frying pan and add the onion. Cook gently for 5 minutes until softened then stir in the mushrooms and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the rice to coat with the onion and mushroom mixture  then pour in the wine and cook over a moderate heat for about 3 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the wine is absorbed.

Reduce to a gentle heat. Add 125ml of the stock and cook for about 5 minutes until the liquid is absorbed. Pour in a further 125ml of stock and continue cooking until absorbed. Repeat with the remaining stock, until it is all absorbed and the rice is creamy and tender.

Stir in the spinach then the tomatoes and half the parmesan and return to the stove for a couple of minutes until the spinach has wilted. Serve scattered with the remaining parmesan.

EAT

10 propoints per serving of risotto.

Adapted from Good Food Magazine