My friend Heather made this risotto for me many moons ago when she and her partner Becci lived in Greensboro. They now live in Madison (which I’m sure you know if you are a MMoM regular like Heather) but were gracious enough to share the recipe. I made this Sunday night and enjoyed it all week for lunches and dinners. Next time I might use half chicken broth and half white wine but it sure is tasty as is! Thanks HH!

Ingredients:

• 28-32 oz diced or canned tomatoes in their juice (if using whole canned tomatoes – chop or puree)
  1 bottle dry white wine (we tend to use Trader Joe’s 2-buck-Chuck Chardonnay)
  1-2 tbsp olive oil
  1 lb sweet or hot Italian sausage, casings removed (both pork and turkey sausage work well)
  1 large onion, finely chopped
  2+ cloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped
  1-1/2 tbsp dried Italian seasoning (or just basil if you prefer)
  Coarse salt and ground pepper
  1 cup Aborio rice
  1 can artichoke hearts (do not drain)
  1 small can tomato paste
  6 oz+ sliced crimini or Portobello mushrooms
  9 oz+ bag of fresh baby spinach (or if using regular spinach – chop roughly and remove tough stems)
  ½ cup+ grated Parmesan cheese (plus more for serving if desired)
  2 tbsp butter                                                   
   
  Serves 4 (we tend to double the recipe for leftovers). Takes about an hour to prepare. Quite a crowd pleaser and although a bit fussy not difficult!
   
  Directions:
  –          Combine tomatoes with juice and wine in a saucepan and bring just to a simmer. Keep warm over low heat.
  –          In a larger saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add sausage, onion and garlic – season with salt & pepper and Italian seasoning. Cook, breaking up sausage 3-5 minutes until sausage is opaque and onions are softened.
  –          Add rice to sausage mixture. Stir until well coated, 1-2 minutes. Add 1 cup of tomato-wine mixture and stir until absorbed, 1-2 minutes.
  –          Add undrained can of artichoke hearts, tomato paste, mushrooms and 2 cups of the tomato-wine mixture. Stir well until tomato paste is incorporated. Then, simmer over low heat stirring occasionally until absorbed. Continue adding tomato-wine mixture until only 1 cup of tomato-wine mixture is left. Rice should be getting creamy and just tender – about 25-30 minutes.
  –          Add spinach and remaining tomato-wine mixture and stir until liquid is absorbed and spinach is wilted.
  –          Remove from heat and stir in cheese and butter, season with salt and pepper.
  –          Serve immediately (will thicken as it cools) and sprinkle with additional cheese if desired.