Bacon and Wild Mushroom Risotto with Baby Spinach

I have never made risotto. It's been on my list of things to make for awhile. My husband and I both love mushrooms so I knew I wanted some mushrooms in there. I decided to look on the Cooking Light website. I found this recipe and decided it was the one. It had gotten 5 stars and was rated as outstanding. It was pretty easy to follow. The constant stirring was a little much but it had to be done. It turned out great. I will definitely be making this risotto again and I am now in search of other risotto recipes to try.

Bacon and Wild Mushroom Risotto with Baby Spinach

4 cups Homemade Chicken Stock (I used chicken broth)

6 bacon slices, chopped

1 cup chopped shallots

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

4 garlic cloves, minced

4 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced (I used 12 ounces baby bella mushrooms)

4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced

4 ounces oyster mushrooms, sliced

1 cup uncooked Carnaroli or Arborio rice or other medium-grain rice (I used short grain brown rice)

1/3 cup Madeira wine or dry sherry (I used dry sherry)

4 cups baby spinach

1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Asiago cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring Homemade Chicken Stock to a simmer in a small saucepan (do not boil); keep warm over low heat.

2. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add bacon to pan; cook 8 minutes or until crisp, stirring occasionally. Remove bacon from pan with a slotted spoon. Add shallots, oil, thyme, and garlic to drippings in pan; cook 6 minutes or until shallots are tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in mushrooms; cook 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add rice, and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in Madeira; cook 1 minute or until the liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Stir in 1 cup stock; cook 4 minutes or until the liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Add remaining stock, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of stock is absorbed before adding the next (about 25 minutes total). Stir in spinach; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in cheese, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle with bacon.

CALORIES 405 ; FAT 19.1g (sat 6.6g,mono 8.4g,poly 2g); CHOLESTEROL 38mg; CALCIUM 145mg; CARBOHYDRATE 42.6g; SODIUM 555mg; PROTEIN 16.5g; FIBER 3.5g; IRON 2.4mg

Cooking Light, MAY 2010