meatless meal

As we approach the end of Lent, I'm running out of ideas for meatless meals. I went back to my Lidia's Italy cookbook to come up with something different that could be done in a reasonable amout of time. Lo and behold, I a found a wonderful springtime recipe for risotto with spinach. 

The ingredients can be found in your local grocery store, just about all of the local ones now carry Arborio rice, a little more challenging may be Carnaroli rice. Spinach leaves, onions, white wine and either Grana Padao or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese are needed. Do not purchase cheese in a cardboard container. Purchase a wedge of what you'll need and grate it yourself. The cheese will last about a week or two. Wrap it tightly in parchment paper or foil and store in your vegetable draw as exposure to air will dry out the cheese.

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This recipe called for using hot water to cook the rice.  However, I had some vegetable stock leftover from another recipe, so I used that with additional hot water to make up the difference. I prepared the risotto in my LeCreuset braiser which worked out perfectly as there was plenty of room and surface area for the rice to cook.

The cooked risotto cooked to a nice creaminess. Studded with the spinach leaves and cooked in the vegetable broth, it made for a tasty and flavorful dish. A generous dose of Parmigiano-Reggiano with it's nutty flavor added to the richness of the dish. The proportions given in the recipe is enough to feed six. Since it's just my husband and I, we had enough leftover to make a meal for a day when I to work the closing shift. I saved some of the broth to add to the rice to make sure it was moist when I reheated it in the microwave. However, just covering the risotto with a glass cover  made it as moist as when I first cooked it.