Are you craving comfort food? When the weather turns chilly, I find that I crave it all the time. Do you?
One of my current jobs is cooking for a family who loves good food. Including cheese. I find myself constantly trying to think of ways to sneak vegetables into comfort foods so that they feel satisfied, but also nourished.
A few weeks back, I created a risotto for them and tasted a bite (for quality control, of course!). It was incredible. But it had onions, cauliflower, sweet potato and lots of cheese in it.
I was inspired to create something equally delicious for those with FODMAP and dairy sensitivities. If you tolerate dairy, the Parmesan cheese adds a very nice touch. But for those who cannot, you won’t be disappointed.
Feel free to experiment with adding other veggies to this recipe per your dietary needs. Some great additions include: cauliflower (not low FODMAP), sweet potato (up to 1/2 cup is low FODMAP), and asparagus (not low FODMAP).
If you want to serve this as a side dish instead of a main dish, feel free to skip the chicken. Personally, I like to create whole meal dishes when I cook on weekends so that I just have one container to take for grab and go lunches.
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons freshly chopped sage
- 4 cups baby spinach
- 1 bunch green onions (green part only for low FODMAP), sliced
- 2 large carrots, cut into ½ inch pieces
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast or Parmesan cheese (if dairy is tolerated)
- 1.5 tablespoons butter (optional)
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1.5 cups dry arborio rice
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 4 cups chicken broth (homemade or find a store-bought version without garlic/onion)
- 4 oz can white button mushrooms
- 1 chicken breast, sliced in thin strips
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, add olive oil, chopped carrots, and sage. Cook for approximately 5-10 minutes or until carrots can be pierced with a fork but are nowhere near mushy.
- Add sliced chicken breast and allow to brown lightly on each side.
- Add mushrooms and green onion, stirring to incorporate flavors (about 30 seconds).
- Add arborio rice and stir, allowing to toast slightly until it becomes translucent around the edges.
- Add wine and half of the chicken broth. Bring to a boil.
- When the rice begins to suck up most of the moisture, add the remaining chicken broth in 1 cup increments.
- Finally, add the spinach and nutritional yeast (or cheese) and stir to incorporate. Season generously with salt and pepper, taste testing to determine perfect amount for your taste buds.
- Once the spinach has wilted and the rice has absorbed all the chicken broth, add butter (optional), remove from heat, and serve warm.
I’m not able to have alcohol. Can you recommend a substitute for the 1/2 cup of white wine? This recipe looks super yummy! Can’t wait to try it.
You can try 1/2 cup extra vegetable (or chicken) stock plus 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice to give it a little tang.