Sausage and Spinach Risotto

Happy Monday! It has been- again!!- a while since I have posted, and life has been crazy busy, but fear not- I have been cooking, just not keeping up with cooking and posting at the same time. I made this recipe over a month ago, and just now I am posting- put it is a keeper! Simple, light, delicious and easy to make.

Now, for those of you who are FAN-atic about Top Chef, as I am, know that most of the contestants go home for not properly cooking Risotto. In the show episodes, it is either overcooked or undercooked. I now know the reason- it requires CONSTANT stirring to make it perfect. Mine was just that- perfect, but it took a lot of elbow grease, if you would. I got this amazing recipe from Cooking Light magazine.

Ingredients

3 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1 cup water
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/8 tsp salt
1 8 oz package pre-sliced cremini mushroom ( Trade Joe's has the best price for these)
5 oz sweet Italian sausage, casings removed ( about 2 links)- again, Trader Joe's was perfect
1/2 cup chopped shallots
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup uncooked Arborio rice ( Trader Joe's)
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 6 oz package baby spinach
1/4 cup shaved Romano cheese

Directions

Bring broth and 1 cup water to a simmer in a small saucepan. Keep warm over low heat. Heat a Dutch Oven over medium-high heat. Add oil, swirl to coat. Add salt and mushrooms to pan; cook for 8 minutes or until browned. Remove from pan and set mushrooms aside. Add sausage to the pan, and cook for 3 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Add shallots and garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium. Now comes the tricky part- add rice, cook for 1 minute, stirring- not kidding- constantly. Stir in wine and cook until liquid is nearly absorbed, scrapping pan to loosen browned bits.
Stir in 1 cup of broth mixture( the one you had set aside in the beginning) and cook for 2 minutes or until the liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Again, this is the dance you will be in for the next 20 minutes, so get your arms ready. Add remaining broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly, until each portion of the broth is absorbed, before adding the next 1/2 cup. Once this is done, remove pan from the heat, add mushrooms and spinach; stir until spinach wilts, about 2 minutes. Top evenly with cheese and serve immediately.

This serves 4 portions, each with 331 calories, 9 g of fat, 4 g of fiber.

No leftovers from this dish- Bryan really loved the risotto :) Now, bring it on Top Chef ;)