It’s hard work having two houses:(

Yesterday morning, we cleaned our Perth house and then drove for more than 3 hours to arrive in Bridgetown as the sun was setting.

After all that work and the long drive, we thought we would have a wee drink on the verandah before preparing dinner.

Luckily, on the way down, I was thinking about what we could have for dinner.  I knew that, in the freezer, we had lots and lots of silverbeet I had prepared last time we were here and that we had a packet of Arborio rice in the cupboard.  I mentally went through the ingredients for Spinach with Walnut Risotto – Yep, we had everything we needed.

I always make my risotto in a pressure cooker.  It makes perfect risotto in 8 minutes.  It was perfect for dinner after a day at the office and, now, equally perfect after a long drive.  If you have a pressure cooker, you should try it.  You will never stir risotto again.  If you don’t, then it is the traditional method for you.

This recipe is from Risotto! by Valentina Harris.  As the name suggests, all the recipes are for risotto.  I haven’t made many of them.  This was the first recipe I made from this book.  I loved it so much, I didn’t move on.  We have it regularly.

I bought this book in Margaret River.  We were there for a long weekend and I was browsing the shops, as you do.  Margaret River is a town known for its wine, food and artisans.   It is a major tourist destination in Western Australia.

Ingredients:

• 600g fresh spinach or silverbeet.  I usually use 2 x 250g packets of frozen spinach but this time I used some of my frozen silverbeet.
• 75g butter and a bit extra if you are using fresh spinach or silverbeet.
• 150g raw Italian sausage, peeled and crumbled.  I buy mine from Woolworths.
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 400g Arborio rice
• 1 glass of white wine (and more for drinking)
• 1.5 litres chicken stock, hot
• salt and coarsely ground black pepper, to taste
• 40g walnuts
• 75g Parmesan cheese, finely grated, plus extra for serving

1. If using fresh spinach or silverbeet, chop it finely then place it in a large pot with a knob of butter, steam until wilted, drain and set aside.
   If using frozen spinach or silverbeet, defrost and drain.
2. Melt half of the butter in large pot and gently fry the onion and sausage until the onion is transparent and soft.
3. Add the rice and stir until the grains are coated in the butter and hot and glistening.
4. Add the wine and stir until it has been absorbed.
5. Add a ladleful of hot stock and stir until the rice has almost absorbed the liquid.
6. Add more stock; stir as before.  Continue adding ladles of stock as each one is absorbed.
7. When the rice is tender and most of the stock has been absorbed, add the spinach, salt and pepper; stir.
8. Remove from the heat.
9. Add the walnuts, the rest of the butter and Parmesan; stir.
10. Serve with extra Parmesan.

OR do what I did…

1. Follow the instructions up to point 4 using the base of your pressure cooker.
2. When the wine has been absorbed, add all of the hot stock.
3. Put lid on your pressure cooker and bring to pressure.  Cook at pressure for 7-8 minutes.
4. Take off heat and allow steam to escape.
5. Open lid and continue at point 7.