Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers: Fresh Ideas for the Weeknight Table Hardcover - 2005

Excerpt

Spinach Artichoke Risotto

Serves 6
Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 quart vegetable broth (see below)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1.5 cups arborio rice
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 14-ounce can of artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
• 1 tablespoon dried dill (2 tablespoons chopped fresh)
• 10 ounces baby spinach, rinsed and drained
• .5 cup chopped scallions
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese (4 ounces)

To Prepare

In a saucepan, bring the broth to a boil and then reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer.

In a large, heavy saucepan on medium-high heat, cook the garlic in the oil until golden, just a few seconds. Add the rice, stirring to coat each grain with oil. Stir in the wine, artichoke hearts, and dill if using dried. Cook, stirring often, until the wine is absorbed. Ladle in the hot broth a cup at a time, stirring frequently. After each addition, cook until the rice has absorbed most of the broth before adding the next ladleful.

When most of the broth is absorbed and the rice is tender but still al dente, stir in the spinach, in batches if necessary. When the spinach is wilted but still bright green, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the scallions, feta cheese, and dill if using fresh. Serve at once.

Vegetable Broth is our favorite shortcut product for home cooking. At Moosewood Restaurant, we make fresh vegetable stock every day because it gives our soups depth and complexity. But when you’re pressed for time, homemade stock just isn’t going to happen. So, how can you turn out soups in an instant that still have plenty of flavor like those that simmer half the day? Good news: Quart boxes of organic vegetable, mushroom, and mock chicken broth are on the shelves of most natural food stores and supermarkets. We like Imagine and Pacific brands.

These broths taste great, have pure ingredients, and can be used directly from the box for soups, stews, and risottos. Once opened, the brother keeps for a few weeks in the refrigerator. Unopened, they sit in your cupboard until you need them. If we were to poll Moosewood cooks, we think these broths would probably be named “favorite convenience product used at home.”