I love risotto, but there are caveats. Mainly that I’m the only person in my family who doesn’t turn their nose up at it, so it doesn’t appear on the dinner table nearly as often as I’d like. Although, surprisingly, this version did manage to convert one of my teenagers — which is impressive considering her main food groups are generally brown, sugar and cheese. To be fair, this risotto does contain a generous amount of cheese-laced spinach purée, so perhaps I shouldn’t be too shocked.

Risotto also seems to intimidate people a little. And I understand why. Gluey risotto with crunchy grains in the middle is a deeply disappointing reward for standing at the stove stirring for half an hour wondering if you’ve ruined dinner.

The trick with risotto is actually fairly simple: cook it slowly, stir it consistently and use good ingredients — especially the stock. There’s nowhere for bad stock to hide in a dish like this. It does require a bit of patience, but not nearly as much as people make out, and the payoff is absolutely worth it.

And before anyone says it — yes, I’ve tried the oven version. It works… sort of. But I’m still not convinced. For risotto, I prefer the old-fashioned method. Standing at the stove with a glass of wine, stirring something comforting while pretending I’m far more organised than I actually am.

One of the reasons I love risotto now is its simplicity and versatility. Once you understand the base, the flavour combinations are endless, and it’s one of the easiest ways to feed a crowd or future-you for the next few days. This spinach and pea version in particular performs a small miracle by turning an alarming quantity of spinach into something rich, creamy and genuinely comforting. I can make a big batch on Sunday and actually look forward to eating it all week and have a lunch that is sort of healthy – I mean the spinach, right?

Worth Making?

Yes — if you like the idea of comfort food pretending to be moderately healthy because this packs in a load of spinach and is able to convert the non-convertable anti-veggie eaters
Yes — if you find stirring risotto oddly relaxing and don’t mind hovering near the stove with a glass of wine while doing so or simply enjoying the therapy of it all
Yes — if you have spinach ‘haters’, they will find this hard to pass up
Yes — if you want something that feels slightly impressive without actually being technically difficult and you’re prepared to put it in a little effort
Skip it — if you want dinner on the table in 15 minutes because risotto needs a little time and the spinach puree adds an extra step
Skip it — if standing at the stove stirring is your idea of kitchen purgatory
Skip it — if you expect leftovers to stay perfectly silky because risotto firms up in the fridge and the texture changes but still delicious

Equipment

1 food processor

Ingredients

300 grams arborio rice
300 grams fresh spinach washed and drained
2 large shallots
4 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp lemon juice
150 grams parmesan cheese grated
1 tb butter
2 tsp olive oil
60 ml white wine
750 ml chicken stock (warm)
150 grams peas
1 tb salted Butter
2 tsp olive oil

Instructions

Spinach Puree

Finely chop shallots and garlic and add to a saucepan with 1/2 olive oil and butter. Cook until starting to soften and season with salt and pepper.
Add spinach and lemon juice, cook until spinach is wilted and fully cooked.
Drain excess water from spinach and puree mixture in a food processor until smooth. Add 100 grams of the grated Parmesan and give a quick pulse to incorporate. Set mixture aside.

Risotto

Heat remaining olive oil in pan and once hot, add risotto rice. Cook until rice is coated.
Add wine and stir risotto until wine is fully evaporated and absorbed into the rice.
Over a low simmering heat, add ladles of chicken stock one at a time stirring regularly as the rice absorbs the previous ladle full and ensuring rice does not stick to bottom of pan by regularly stirring. Cook until rice is tender and cooked through.
Add spinach puree to risotto and stir through cooking until heated and fully incorporated.
Taste test and add more salt/pepper as needed. Risotto is ready to serve, garnish wth remaining parmesan.

Make it your own way

Add shredded roast chicken, a fried egg or some grilled fish if you want to turn this into a slightly more substantial meal or use it as a side dish
Swap the peas for asparagus or broad beans when they’re in season or even better, fresh peas
Stir through a little lemon zest at the end if the dish feels like it needs brightening up, can amp up the lemon juice too if you like a bit more sharpness
Use mascarpone instead of some of the parmesan for an even richer, silkier finish. Or if you want very lux – in addition to the parmesan
Top with extra parmesan, black pepper and something crunchy like toasted breadcrumbs if you enjoy contrast in texture
If your risotto thickens too much the next day, loosen it with a splash of stock, water or cream while reheating

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