Running Mama Cooks

After a week of quick weeknight dinners, I was excited to take my time and make this for our Friday night dinner. I absolutely love risotto, and this one was totally worth the half hour of stirring!! I used my go to recipe for risotto and tweaked it a tiny bit. It was really good and the perfect compliment to london broil, which I simply season generously with Laury's and broil for 20 minutes.

Mushroom Spinach Risotto

Ingredients:

1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
8 oz package sliced cremini mushroom
1 shallot, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
a few dashes of red pepper flakes
1 c arborio rice
1/4 c dry white wine
5 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth for a vegetarian version), heated on the stovetop or microwave
1 c fresh baby spinach
3 tbsp Parmesan cheese

Directions

Heat 1 tbs of olive oil in a large saute pan. Add mushrooms and cook until tender. Remove from pan and set aside.
Heat remaining olive oil and butter in a large saute pan
Add shallots, garlic and red pepper flakes; stir until tender, about 2 minutes.
Add arborio rice and stir until coated
Add the white wine and stir until absorbed
Add the hot chicken broth, one ladle at a time, stirring constantly. Add more broth only when all of the broth in the pan has been absorbed by the rice. This entire process takes anywhere from 17 to 25 minutes.
Near the end, stir in the mushrooms and spinach
When you add your final ladle of broth, add the cheese.
Serve immediately

Whenever we have company for dinner, I love serving something special. I feel like this meal fit the bill. I made my parmesan crusted tilapia but added a little twist. It came out great and I think it took an already tasty fish dish to another level.

The instructions are exactly the same as the link above, but the topping was a bit different. I put a handful of fresh basil, 5 sundried tomatoes, and 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts in the food processor and pulsed until finely chopped. Then I added a cup of parmesan cheese and 2 tbs of dried basil and pulsed to combine. This made enough topping for 9 tilapia filets. The flavor was amazing!!


My main side dish was Pioneer Woman's Sundried Tomato Risotto. Wow! Definitely make this if you love risotto. It was awesome

Sundried Tomato Risotto
from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

4 Tablespoons Butter
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
½ whole Large Yellow Onion, Diced
3 cloves Garlic, Minced
2 cups Arborio Rice, Uncooked
8 whole Sundried Tomatoes Packed In Oil, Drained And Minced
1 cup Dry White Wine (optional)
7 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth (I used low sodium vegetable broth)
Salt As Needed
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 cup Parmesan, Freshly Grated
¼ cups Heavy Whipping Cream
Fresh Basil, Chiffonade (I used dried basil)


Preparation Instructions

Heat broth (note: it’s important the broth be low sodium) in a saucepan or in a microwave safe pitcher. Set aside.

Heat butter and olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.

Add dry rice. Stir to coat and cook for 3 minutes, stirring gently.

Pour in wine. Stir and cook over medium-low heat until most of the liquid is absorbed. Add in minced sundried tomatoes and stir.

Then begin adding broth, one cup at a time, stirring gently while the rice absorbs the liquid each time. Repeat this until the rice is done—it usually takes between 6 and 8 cups of broth. The rice should have a slight bite to it, but not be crunchy at all.

Remove from heat, then stir in Parmesan and heavy cream. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

I originally thought I was going to skip the heavy cream at the end, but decided what the heck, since it was a special dinner. I'm glad I went for it. And I'm really happy to have some leftovers today. Is 9am too early for risotto?

I also served roasted asparagus (425 for 15 mins with olive oil and salt) and a simple Caesar salad.

Big Thanks to Lynsey and John for coming to dinner!

Today was all about culinary challenges for me. I've never made risotto and have honestly been a little intimidated by it. Well, it was not that hard, but definitely a little tedious. The end result? Totally worth it. Super delicious and I really loved this flavor combination. This recipe, from Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations, was excellent. I can see using the base recipe and adding any flavor combo I feel like, which Mary Ellen has done throughout her blog.

I am officially a big risotto fan! It was the perfect compliment to my Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

Risotto with Roasted Red Pepper and Baby Spinach
From Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations

Ingredients

•1 tbsp butter
•1 tbsp olive oil
•1 shallot, chopped
•2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
•Optional: a few dashes of red pepper flakes
•1 c arborio rice
•1/4 c dry white wine
•5 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth for a vegetarian version)
•1 roasted red pepper, chopped (to roast, put over an open flame until all of the skin is charred. Put in a bowl covered with plastic to sweat the skin off. After 10 minutes, peel the skin to reveal your beautiful roasted red pepper)
•1 c fresh baby spinach
•3 tbsp Parmesan cheese

Directions

•Heat olive oil and butter in a large saute pan
•Add shallots and garlic (and red pepper flakes); stir until tender, about 2 minutes.
•Add arborio rice and stir until coated
•Add the white wine and stir until absorbed
•Add the chicken broth, one ladle at a time, stirring constantly. Add more broth only when all of the broth in the pan has been absorbed by the rice. This entire process takes anywhere from 17 to 25 minutes.
•Near the end, stir in the spinach and red peppers.
•When you add your final ladle of broth, add the cheese.
•Serve immediately.