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| Creamy, Cheesy, and Garlicky Rice with Spinach |
This week the
French Fridays with
Dorie challenge was Creamy, Cheesy, and Garlicky Rice with Spinach.
I was on a high from last week’s challenge, so
I prepared this dish over the Labor Day weekend and used it with grilled steak
as a potato substitute.
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| 10 ounces of fresh spinach |
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| 10 ounces fresh spinach after steaming |
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| 10 ounces fresh spinach after squeezing water out |
The recipe is surprisingly easy and quick.
I expected to spend at least an
hour on the recipe but was done in less than thirty minutes (ten minutes of
prep work and about eighteen minutes of cooking time).
I chose to combine two of the suggested cheeses,
the Emmethal and Gruyere, which added a bit more depth and complexity to the
flavors.
The creaminess of the cheeses,
whipping cream and butter nicely melded with the rice and spinach. There was a
lovely aroma in the kitchen -- not quite the measure of last week's corn soup, but
enticing nonetheless.
This dish would
work well for a dinner party as it is not labor intensive, can be kept warm
without compromising the result, and served when needed.
Also, it can be enhanced with a drizzle of
truffle oil, the addition of some foraged mushrooms (or what you can find in
the market) or maybe even a splash of wine to finish before serving.
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| Onions & Garlic - ready to go! |
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| Chicken Broth, Onion & Garlic Mixture & Rice |
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| Gentle, rolling boil - see how the rice is absorbing the chicken broth |
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| Rice after about 18 minutes - ready for garnish! |
The following night, we combined the leftovers with cooked ground sirloin,
stuffed it
into bell peppers and baked for a nice main
course.
So the dish is versatile as well
as delicious.
From a technique standpoint, I missed watching the Arborio rice develop
pretty little shiny pearls on its side before liquid is added.
Also missing was the labor-intensive ritual
of carefully ladling in the perfect amount of stock for the rice to absorb in
order to obtain the correct texture.
I
guess I am a traditionalist when it comes to risotto.
Like diamonds, I prefer the real thing!
This faux risotto is an acceptable alternative
if you are short on time, entertaining and don’t want to fuss too much.
Definitely don't forget to pair this dish with wine.
It is hearty enough to hold up to a red, and we
paired ours with a 2006 St. Francis Cabernet that was a real gem.
This recipe can be found in “
Around My
French Table” by Dorie Greenspan on page 380-81.
As part of the
French Fridays with Dorie community, members can post their
experiences with the recipe on
www.frenchfridayswithdorie.com.
Click on the link or icon on the side to read
what other members have to say this week.
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| Voila - a completed dish! |
I like the fact that you've renamed the dish and it's still a pretty accurate description! I added mushrooms to mine, but I wished I had your two cheeses too.
ReplyDeleteYour rice looks fantastic. Great wine pairing idea!
ReplyDeleteHow the heck did mine take 45 minutes to cook?? lol Yours looks great. This would be perfect paired with a steak. YUM!
ReplyDeleteYour rice looks perfect and paired with steak is a great idea. I thought this method was simple and agree that it turned out great.
ReplyDeleteYours looks delicious!! Steak makes a great pairing!
ReplyDeleteYours looks delicious and you too used brown rice. For me I used basmati rice and lessen the cream and butter and cheese for a lesser fat meal :)
ReplyDeleteLooks beautiful! I bet it was fantastic inside the peppers, too! :)
ReplyDeleteOh I'm getting so many ideas today. I thought I would make this as a vegetarian meal, but the idea of eating it with steak is very enticing!
ReplyDeleteWow, yours cooked much faster than mine. Looks great! I stuffed the leftovers into red peppers for night #2. I liked it both ways.
ReplyDeleteLooks delicious! Not a replacement for risotto, but a great dish on its own.
ReplyDeleteCute name for your fancy French rice! Serving this rice with a steak sounds like a very special meal, yum!
ReplyDeleteSince I have never made risotto before, I didn't know what to expect and was nervous about making it, but was so happy with the results. Now that I have the rest of the bag of Arborio I think I may try making it the traditional way - I am interested in seeing those little pearls develop that you describe! I really like your idea of adding mushrooms and truffle oil.
ReplyDeleteLove your process photos! And the use of the word faux! Fabulous! Nevermind the inclusion of truffle oil. Great post!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, left me with a smile and a giggle!
ReplyDeleteLove the diamond comparison.
I love the idea of adding some steak for the leftovers! Thanks for the kind comments on my blog!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI love the thought of using the truffle oil - I think the flavors of this dish are "drizzle worthy".
ReplyDeleteThe spinach in your hand made me lol! Thanks for the wine recommendation :)
ReplyDeleteI second the kudos on the truffle oil and mushrooms idea. Adding that to my list of possibilities.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestion of adding tomatoes to my Mexican version. Though I do love traditional risotto, the time involved usually prevents me from making it so I love this method. I planned to go a step further and use the rice cooker risotto method (it can be done!) but found I was out of risotto so I used my short grain Japanese rice to change it up one step more.
ReplyDeleteYour ideas are excellent and the wine pairing sounds tempting as well!
I have to say I don't miss the amount of time it takes for traditional risotto, when this faux version is so good! (Wrong, I know.) I like all the choices you made for your version; it sounds delicious.
ReplyDelete