spinach and mushroom risotto

Risotto has become my go-to recipe. It's easy to change so that it incorporates seasonal vegetables or you can pretty much just add whatever you want. My friend Heather, who I hadn't seen for a year since we were in Italy, came over for dinner so I thought it might be fun to have risotto. I knew I wanted spinach and I knew I wanted mushrooms. I also felt confident enough in my general knowledge of risotto that I was able to pull it together without a recipe. I'm so proud! It was so creamy and delicious. Heather and I ate the whole thing! Just kidding... the dish probably serves 6 to 8. But it did make for some really delicious leftovers.

spinach and mushroom risotto

1 quart (32 oz.) vegetable stock
2 cups water
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups of arborio rice
3/4 cup white wine
10 shitake mushrooms, sliced (or 2 cups sliced of whatever you want)
3-4 cups (5 oz.) fresh, finely chopped spinach
1/2 cup grated parmigiano reggiano
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium pot, bring vegetable stock and water to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let simmer. In a large pan, sautee the garlic and onions in olive oil until soft. Add rice and stir for 2 minutes, until lightly toasted. Add white wine and stir until absorbed. Once absorbed, add one and a half ladles of warm stock to the rice mixture, stirring until absorbed. Repeat this process until you have two ladle left to add.

During the ladle process, sautee the mushrooms in olive oil until cooked and season with salt and papper. At the second to last ladle, add the spinach with the stock and stir. Once absorbed, add the last ladle with the mushrooms. Stir in the parmigiano and add salt and pepper to taste. Voila.