Tomato-Basil & Spinach Risotto
Try this Tomato-Basil & Spinach Risotto recipe, or contribute your own.
Try this Tomato-Basil & Spinach Risotto recipe, or contribute your own.
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 cups baby spinach
- salt & pepper
- 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 2-1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1/4 cup dry white wine (i used pinot grigio)
- 3/4 cup certified gluten-free arborio rice
- 2 vine-ripened tomatoes seeded & chopped (or equival
- handful torn basil
- Carbohydrate 2.09665625000183 g
- Cholesterol 26.2515625065405 mg
- Fat 9.45449062746744 g
- Fiber 0.691500012874603 g
- Protein 5.82119687502586 g
- Saturated Fat 5.82677750156266 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (52g)
- Sodium 546.625000017522 mg
- Sugar 1.40515623712722 g
- Trans Fat 0.67077312517273 g
- Calories 114 calories
Step-by-step
- Bring chicken broth to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat to low and keep hot.
- In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat then add shallot, season with salt & pepper, and then saute until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic then saute for 30 more seconds.
- Add rice then stir to coat in butter. Add wine then stir until nearly absorbed by rice. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth then stir continuously until broth is absorbed. Continue adding broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until nearly absorbed before adding more.
- When there's 1/4 of the broth remaining, add tomatoes then continue stirring. Add baby spinach and basil with the last broth addition then continue stirring. Stir in parmesan cheese then add more salt & pepper to taste.
Making a proper risotto requires managing a strict thermal environment with minimal gear. You do not need a commercial kitchen setup, but you do require two specific vessels: a wide skillet to allow maximum liquid evaporation across the rice grains, and a secondary small saucepan to maintain the broth near a simmer. Allowing the broth to cool down during the process lowers the temperature of the starch granules, halting gelatinization and resulting in unevenly cooked grains.
The Skillet and Broth Dynamic
Selecting a wide-bottomed skillet rather than a deep pot ensures the arborio rice grains spread out in a shallow layer. This surface area distribution lets the wine and subsequent half-cup additions of broth absorb evenly. Keep the broth at a gentle bubble in its separate pot so that adding cold liquid never shocks the rice. Stirring continuously is not merely traditional superstition; physical agitation breaks the outer starch molecules loose from the grain, emulsifying them with the melted butter and parmesan cheese into a glossy sauce.
Managing Delicate Additions
Fresh summer tomatoes release a significant amount of water when heated. Seeding them beforehand prevents excess moisture from turning the dish into a soup. Incorporating the baby spinach and torn basil near the final stages of liquid absorption protects their volatile aromatics from degrading under prolonged heat. Once the parmesan is folded in, taste the mixture immediately to gauge seasoning adjustments before the starches set and dull the salt levels.
