Eat Live Run Presents: Quick Mixed Mushroom Risotto with Spinach and Goat Cheese

Hi Everyone!  I’m back! It’s Jenna from Eat Live Run returning for more mushrooms!

I came up with this particular recipe when I was craving the comfort of risotto without the hour standing by the stove, stirring.

Turns out, you can actually make a very reasonable risotto without all the stirring—just throw it all in the pot, simmer, and go! This entire recipe took about 30 minutes, start to finish and tastes like a fancy restaurant side dish. The goat cheese lends an unparalleled creaminess but be sure to buy the fresh goat cheese logs, not the crumbles, which do not melt well.

Serve this risotto alongside roast chicken or steak….or by itself to vegetarian friends. I find this alone to be a very filling and satisfying meal when paired with a glass of merlot and a light green salad.

Quick Mixed Mushroom Risotto with Spinach and Goat Cheese

• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 3 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 lb sliced mixed mushrooms
• 5 cups fresh baby spinach
• 4 oz goat cheese
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• pinch of sea salt
• freshly ground pepper

In a large saucepot, heat the olive oil on medium heat. Add the minced garlic and sauté quickly, for about one minute, or until just beginning to golden. Be careful, garlic burns quickly!

Add the Arborio rice and stir to coat each piece of rice with olive oil. Cook for two minutes, stirring constantly.

Add the chicken stock, wine and mushrooms and bring to a boil. Reduce and simmer for about 25 minutes, or until the liquid has been absorbed by the rice. If the rice is not cooked all the way, add a little bit more stock then bring back to a simmer.

Once all the liquid has been absorbed, add the baby spinach and cook for about three to five minutes, until the spinach has just started to wilt into the risotto. Add the goat cheese last and stir only briefly, careful to allow clumps of the cheese to remain in the risotto.

Season with sea salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 20th, 2009 at 10:41 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.