Zucchini Risotto with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Flavor-packed sun-dried tomatoes supply the zip in this delicious dish. Snip the tomatoes with sharp kitchen shears instead of using a knife to chop them.

Makes 4 servings

3 1/2 cups reduced-sodium vegetable broth
1/2 cup tomato juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 shallots, finely chopped
4 medium zucchini, chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/3 cups Arborio rice
16 sun-dried tomato halves (not oil-packed), finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh marjoram, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Chopped fresh parsley, to garnish

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the stock and tomato juice; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer.
2. In a medium nonstick saucepan, heat the oil. Saute the shallots until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the zucchini and wine; cook until the zucchini is softened, about 5 minutes longer. Add the rice; cook, stirring, about 1 minute.
3. Add 1 cup of the stock mixture, the sun-dried tomatoes, parsley, and marjoram; cook, stirring, until the liquid is absorbed. Continue adding stock, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until the stock is absorbed before adding more, until rice is just tender. The total cooking time should be about 25-30 minutes. Stir in the cheese and pepper; serve at once, garnished with the parsley.

Per Serving (1 1/2 cups): 368 Cal, 5 g Fat, 1 g Sat Fat, 0 g Trans Fat, 2 mg Chol, 412 mg Sod, 69 g Carb, 4 g Fib, 11 g Prot, 105 mg Calc.

POINTS value: 7.

Tip: For an alcohol-free risotto, you can substitute nonalcoholic dry white wine or broth for the wine.

Comments: This was a pretty easy recipe to do that made a ton of food. The serving size is 1 1/2 cups, and we didn't even use that much. Tammy really liked it since she is more into the tomato Italian style dishes with no meat. I thought it was alright. It needed a little more flavor, so I sprinkled some Season-All and hot-pepper flakes on it, and it was much better. The Arborio rice tastes a little bit like brown rice where it is more chewy. For those that are naive, like we are, dry wine is wine that is not sweet. Any type of non-sweet white wine or cooking white wine is what the recipe is calling for.