I am still in shock at how good this recipe turned out! I saw it in my Real Simple a couple of months ago and kind of wrote it off as a bad idea, but when I saw that a blogger friend of mine tried it and liked it, I decided to give it a whirl.Holy, geez was it delicious.
And it couldn't have been more simple. Get it? Simple? Because it's from Real Simple? Not funny? Okay, I'll move on.
I made the recipe almost exactly as indicated, sauteing some shallots (I added a couple of minced garlic cloves and about a tsp. of dried thyme as well during this step) and then adding white wine, broth and rice before popping it in the oven. It took me less than 10 minutes to put it together, and once it's in the oven you get to walk away for 20 minutes. Once it's done baking, you just stir in cheese, peas and spinach, and BOOM - risotto! Sure, maybe it's not exactly authentic risotto, but it's close enough to be super-delicious, and on a week night, I'd rather have that time back to sit on the couch with a glass of wine and watch the Vampire Diaries than stand in front of the stove stirring and adding broth, stirring and adding broth, stirring and adding broth...
It was seriously delicious. I made it as a main course with a salad on the side, but it would be great as a side with rotisserie chicken, or even some sauteed shrimp or scallops, as well.
I think next time I'll throw in some mushrooms with the shallots, as I like any excuse to eat mushrooms, but other than that, I thought it was great!
