Gluten-Free Spinach and Pumpkin Risotto

Halfway through last month while watching television I saw an advertisement for Channel 10’s 1 million kilo challenge and my interest was sparked. I logged on, had a read about the challenge and then thought about whether or not I should register as a participant.  I signed up and made a guess about what my weight might presently be (scales are in storage) and how much weight I’d like to lose.

After having 3 children within 3 and a bit years I haven’t really lost any of the pregnancy weight (not that I gained more than 15 kilogram’s each pregnancy) so it’s time to improve my waistline. I started on 30^th January but within the first 48 hours I’d had a few problems with my diabetes (Type 1 diabetic) and the number of lower blood sugar levels (Hypo) so I gave up.

So with the first day under my belt and with only one diabetic issue (hypo at lunch which lead to a rebound and I ended up having a real high level at dinner time) I wanted to show you what we (Mr Opoes, Caelan and I) ate for dinner.

Gluten Free Spinach and Pumpkin Risotto



INGREDIENTS:

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 teaspoons Italian herbs

1 cup brown rice, rinsed

2 cups salt-reduced vegetable stock,

½ cup frozen peas

¼ pumpkin, cubed and baked

300 g baby spinach leaves

¼ cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

METHOD:

1. Heat oil in a heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat. Add onion, garlic and herbs and cook, stirring for 3 minutes or until onion has softened.

                           

2. Add rice and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes until well coated in mixture.

3. Add stock to the pan and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until liquid is almost completely absorbed.

4. Add peas and cook for 5 minutes. Stir through spinach and cook for a further 3 minutes.

5. Add parsley, Parmesan and roasted pumpkin.

6. Season to taste and serve. Serves 2

OUTCOME: Now this was a really easy recipe to follow BUT it wasn’t a true risotto because you didn’t have to continually add more liquid to it. I would call this a pilaf. With this in mind I would add a few extra things just to boost the flavours. The first thing I'd do would be to increase the amount of spices, it lacked a bit of flavour. Next, I would add some lemon juice a teaspoon or two and finally I’d add a bit of Feta cheese. Something strong and just crumble it through the dish. If you want, you can bulk it up with fried mushrooms. Overall, it was a good meal.

Megan