Where's My Spinach Risotto!

It seems that celebrity chef and kitchen tantrum expert Gordon Ramsey is always nattering on about how slowly his apprentice chefs are taking with his beloved risottos on my guilty TV pleasure, Hell's Kitchen.

"Where's my risotto?!", he bellows and whines.

"Aw, come on, this risotto is too mushy!".

"There's no seasoning...it's unpalatable!"

I get a guilty shiver of schadenfreude when I watch his bullying tactics and his discus toss of offending appetizers. Nonetheless I was inspired to whip up a spinach risotto of my own the other night. I looked longingly at my struggling spinach seedlings, pruned harshly into a Morse code of dots and dashes by infernal underground moles. There was not enough fresh spinach for my family of four, so I was forced to reach into the freezer for a block of icy greens. Perhaps a mole risotto?

At any rate, I did pull together a lovely, fresh meal for my bunch, spurred on by my husband's occasional exhortation of Ramseyisms.

Here's my recipe:

Spinach Risotto

2/3 stick butter
2 cups rice, rinsed
4 cups vegetable broth (homemade is best and always naturally gluten-free!)
3 Tbsp. olive oil
3 large onions, chopped
2 (8 oz.) pkgs. frozen chopped spinach, thawed
Salt and Pepper to taste
Snippings of fresh herbs to taste (snipped fresh dill is divine)
Grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese

Heat butter in a heavy saute pan. Add rice and stir frequently until it is a toasty golden color, about 8-10 minutes.

Pour in vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, over a low flame, for 20 minutes, or until broth is absorbed and rice is al dente.

Heat olive oil in another pan and add onions. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add spinach and cook, stirring, about 5 minutes more. Stir spinach-onion mixture into risotto and cook until completely mixed and warm. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with snipped herbs and grated cheese.

Serves 6-8.

I am submitting this one-dish recipe to the current round of "Go Ahead, Honey, It's Gluten-Free", started by Naomi over at the witty food blog Straight into Bed Cakefree and Dried and hosted this time by Carrie, the Ginger Lemon Girl. Carrie is still accepting submissions for this event until June 27th, so get cooking!

Enjoy!~