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Baked Pasta Risotto with Peas, Mascarpone + Spinach

by:
May 12, 2014
5
1 Ratings
  • Serves 4
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Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 1 cup ancini de pepe, Israeli couscous or orzo
  • 1/4 cup dry white wine
  • 1 1/2 cups warmed chicken or vegetable broth
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 bunch fresh spinach, stems trimmed
  • 1 cup peas (frozen and thawed)
  • 1/4 cup mascarpone
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Heat butter in a medium saucepan over high heat; add onion and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Stir in pasta to coat with oil, then wine; cook until wine has evaporated, about 1 minute. Stir in 2 cups stock and season with salt and pepper; cover saucepan and transfer to the oven to bake 15 minutes.
  2. As risotto bakes, heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add spinach and peas and cook, tossing occasionally, until spinach wilts and peas are warmed through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
  3. Stir mascarpone into risotto. Serve risotto topped with spinach and peas.
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Before her diagnosis, Caroline wrote a book on cakes called Cake Magic!. She started developing a birthday cake using her gluten-free mix found in that book. Check out other recipes she’s developing for her new life—and the stories behind them—on her blog, The Wright Recipes. Her next book, Soup Club, is a collection of recipes she made for her underground soup club of vegan and grain-free soups she delivers every week to friends throughout Seattle's rainy winter.

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11 Reviews

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jencordes March 24, 2019
This was great! Epicurious has a recipe for ditalini risotto and I was able to source a gluten free option from Amazon. I used a cup of the gf ditalini in this recipe with 1 1/2 cups of stock and it was perfect. Will definitely make again. The possibilities seem endless with regards to toppings.
BakerMary April 26, 2016
Interesting discrepancy 1 1/2 or two cups stock, success may depend on padta used. I used little stars because that was the smallest pasta I had - and 2 cups was too much.
BakerMary April 26, 2016
PASTA - where is spellcheck when I need it?
pattyrat September 19, 2014
I liked the taste and ease of this dish. I used the Israeli couscous and 1 1/2 cups of broth. After 20 minutes in the oven most of the liquid was absorbed, and once I added the mascarpone it created a creamy texture. I added mushrooms to the spinach and pea mixture, and topped the whole thing off with some freshly grated Parmesan. Very good!
doticus May 20, 2014
I used 2 cups and it was far too runny. I would recommend trying 1 1/2 cups of broth instead.
ShannonS May 20, 2014
Thanks for your input doticus. I found the original recipe from Feast in google books under the name Blank Slate Baked Risotto and I've been trying to piece the two versions together for the perfect formula. Anxious to try it out. I think this could be a perfect base recipe that I'll get a lot of miles out of.
Sarah May 13, 2014
ShannonS beat me to it. As I was cooking the recipe, I discovered the broth discrepancy. I decided on the 2-1 ratio (2 cups broth to 1 cup orzo) and that worked perfectly for me.
The author may want to look the recipe over -- the instructions in step 1 read: "...Heat BUTTER in a medium saucepan over high heat; add onion and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Stir in pasta to coat with OIL, then wine ..." According to the recipe, the oil is not added to the orzo, but in a separate pan when the spinach mixture is sauteed.
I really liked the flavor of the mascarpone and how it helped create that creamy texture in this "cheater" risotto that we love in the classic version . I added some lemon juice at the end to balance the richness.
Thanks a bunch for contributing this recipe! I will definitely be integrating this technique again in the near future.
ShannonS May 13, 2014
1 1/2 c of broth are listed in the ingredients but 2 c are called for in the directions. Can you please clarify. Thanks!
Horto May 13, 2014
i don't want to dirty another pan so i will toss the greens with the pasta for the last few minutes.
Liz B. May 13, 2014
Good call, and you'd end up using less oil that way.

http://thatumamilife.wordpress.com - a clean eating bento blog. Japanese or Asian-inspired!

ATG117 May 13, 2014
You could also cook the veg in the pot before you start the onions. Might yield a better result IMHO.