Monday, November 18, 2013

Mushroom and Spinach Risotto with Chorizo


Ah the joys of a wet weekend.......Some seriously good comfort food.

This Mushroom and Spinach Risotto with Chorizo is completely delicious. These are the pleasures of eating like an inhabitant of the Mediterranean, but there is some seriously saturated fat in this one, so a bit of portion control goes a long way here.


Its high protein content means, if I stop eating before I am full and wait about 15 minutes, it is a completely satisfying dish, which will not see me midnight snacking, like other so called diet foods seem to do.


We don't eat alot of risotto at the Beach House, as it is jam packed with calories, albeit nutrient dense ones, but I had this chorizo to use up, so risotto it was.


This is slow food at its best.  One needs to take care with risotto by preheating the stock and constantly stirring throughout the absorption process, so that that creaminess in the aborio rice is allowed to develop.  Believe me it is so worth the wait. 


 I will be definitely making this risotto again,  because it was amazing on the taste buds, but I think in all honesty, next time it will be without the chorizo.  Mr Beach House loved it with meat, but I think this dish stands up equally well, as a vegetarian offering.  I can just see us eating this in Winter around the fire, glass of red in hand.


Mushroom and Spinach Risotto with Chorizo
Serves 4
4 cups chicken stock
2 tbsp of lemon infused extra virgin olive oil
or just plain extra virgin is fine
300g/10oz mushrooms
1 onion quartered
2 cloves garlic
Good handful fresh thyme
Use a teaspoon of dried thyme as an alternative to fresh, if desired
1.5 cups aborio rice
3/4 cup red wine
2 chorizo sausages (I use the Aldi 2 pack) finely sliced
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 tbsn butter
2 cups baby spinach


Bring stock to the boil in a pot. Turn down to low to keep warm
Blend mushrooms, onion and garlic to a paste in a food processor.
In a separate pot heat oil over a medium heat, add mushroom mixture and thyme.  Sweat the mixture for 1-2 minutes to heat through.
Add rice and coat well with the mushroom mixture.
Add wine and and allow rice to absorb a little.
Add warm stock one ladle at a time and stir continually, letting each addition be fully absorbed into the rice before the next.
Saute the chorizo in a small non stick pan until crisp and set aside.

As the rice is almost cooked, add the Parmesan, butter, spinach and chorizo.  Stir to combine and serve.

Serve immediately.  

Risotto does require some effort and a bit of washing up, but boy are the results worth it.  This is comfort food at its best.



Have a great week Beach Dwellers. Check out my other yummy dishes here. 


This week I will be up to my elbows in Christmas crafting

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8 comments :

  1. Guess what we are having for dinner tonight -thanks for the great recipe-love dee x

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  2. Oh my goodness...I WANT THIS TONIGHT!!! Great récipe, thanks for sharing.
    Hugs,
    FABBY

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  3. I love the look of your risotto. My husband just loves chorizo so this would be a winning dish for him. Isn't it cold! This cold and soggy weather definitely screams for comfort meals like this xx

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  4. Looks gorgeous Carolyn. I'm trying that one.

    Anne xx

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  5. hi Carolyn, we make risotto occasionally. I love slow food. But I'm not a fan of the red wine look so I just use white wine or left over champagne in it. Will have to try it with the chorizo (or wurst) but we usually use left over roast chicken, sweet potato, pumpkin, mushrooms or whatever we have in the fridge. My daughter love it but son hates it. Hope you had a good weekend. So much rain one of our gutters has almost fallen off (thanks to a neighbours cyrpus pine whose needle leaves fall through the gutter guard.
    Got to get a handyman to sort it out.
    Fiona x

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  6. Oh yum!!!! Thanks tons for linking to Inspire Me. Hugs, Marty

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  7. Yum this looks like just what I need to cook for dinner tonight. Have just returned from a 2 week holiday and not use to having to cook for myself again so looking for some simple meals like this to get me through the next few days getting back to reality :)

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