Recipe - Chicken and Spinach Risotto

It feels like it's been a while since I've cooked anything substantial but this risotto was the solution to the lull in my cooking habits. It also had the dual purpose of helping Duc do his wine homework (he has to report on different wines for work) since we were going to use white wine in the risotto. This was quite the delicious dinner albeit a tad lengthy to create since the rice had to get to the right texture but yeah, still good. Thanks to Duc for all the photos he took!

Step 1: Ingredients (serving size: 4)

• grated Parmesan cheese, to taste
• olive oil, for pan
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 garlic bulb, minced
• 1 lb spinach, rinsed & chopped
• 1 1/4 cup risotto or medium grain rice
• 2 chicken breasts, sliced into strips
• 2 tbsps butter, cut into pieces
• 3 cups chicken broth, reduced sodium

Step 2: Prepping the chicken
Note that on the recipe I had indicated a garlic bulb, not clove. I'm a big fan of garlic so I definitely felt like we needed a lot to bring out the flavors of the garlic lest the chicken broth overpower it. Mince your garlic, chop your onion, and strip the chicken breasts. Heat oil in a large skillet, and add the onion & garlic. Stir until the onion is transparent. Then add the chicken and cook through for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step 3: Cooking the rice
Heat up a saucepan with the broth to bring to a boil. Add rice to your large skillet with the chicken and keep stirring to prevent burning. Add white wine and turn to high heat for it to evaporate. Once the broth is hot enough, start adding it little by little to the skillet. Let this cook for about 20 minutes while you stir.

Step 4: Adding the spinach
Chop up your spinach. When the rice is nearly done, add the spinach to the skillet and stir gently. You want to mix it evenly into the rice and chicken.

Step 5: Finishing
Cut your butter into small pieces. Take the skillet off the heat, and dot everything with the butter. Then add on Parmesan cheese before covering the entire skillet with a lid. Let it stand for about a minute before serving. Enjoy with the rest of the wine you had used for cooking! NOTE: We actually didn't really like the white wine that we used but we hadn't had it before. To truly enjoy wine with your dinner, make sure you have something you like!