Garden Risotto

I'm sort of on an Ellie Krieger kick this week.  If you haven't encountered her on food network or the cooking channel, she's a really amazing chef and nutrition professor at columbia.  I love her recipes because they keep the flavor strong while incorporating healthy ingredients and reducing the amount of oil.

Risotto takes way more effort than pasta, but is all the more satisfying when you eat it.  So if you have time to sit and stir the risotto for 20-30 minutes this recipe is definitely worth the arm work.  Ellie's recipe isn't vegetarian, so I modified it a bit and added some nuts to make it a main dish.

6 cups low sodium vegetable broth
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
1 and 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/2 a cup of dry white wine
3/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch of black pepper
3 lightly packed cups of baby spinach leaves
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 pound asparagus (cooked for 1 minute with a teaspoon of water in the microwave, chopped into 3/4 inch pieces)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan

Bring broth to simmer in a medium sauce pan.  Heat oil in heavy sauce pan over medium-low heat and cook onion until soft, stirring occasionally about 3-5 minutes.

Add rice stirring constantly about 1 minute.  Add wine and simmer, stirring constantly until liquid is absorbed.  Add 3/4 cup of the hot broth, salt, and pepper, stirring constantly until liquid is absorbed.  When absorbed, continue adding 3/4 of broth at a time, stirring throughout.  Do this until the rice is almost tender and creamy looking (somewhere between 20-30 minutes).

Add spinach and peas and cook until spinach is wilted.  Add asparagus and cook just until the vegetables are hot.  Add in the walnuts and parmesean.  If risotto seems too thick add some more broth.

Recipe with modifications courtesy of Ellie Krieger.