I give a basic risotto recipe so that as well as making this delicious pea version you can experiment with other flavours
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Ingredients
BASIC RISOTTO RECIPE
- 1.5 ltrs chicken stock
- 1.5 tbsp salt check the seasoning of your stock and add salt to taste
- 1 banana shallot very finely chopped
- 50 g unsalted butter
- 300 g risotto rice I use carnoroli
- 100 ml white wine
FOR A PEA RISOTTO
- 300 g peas
- 1 tsp tarragon chopped
- 1 tbsp chives chopped
- 70 g sugar snap peas sliced diagonally
- 1 lemon zested
- 2 tbsp creme fraiche
- 2 tbsp parmesan grated
Equipment
- Deep wide pan
- wooden spoon
- Mini Blender
Instructions
- Blanch the peas in boiling salty water. After 2 minutes keep a tablespoon of the salty water then drain and refresh in iced water. Tip half the peas with the splash of salted cooking water you kept and blitz to a puree in a mini processor. put into a bowl
- Add to the puree bowl, remaining blanched whole peas, lemon zest, herbs, sugar snaps, creme fraiche and parmesan and set aside ready for when you finish the risotto
- In a saucepan bring your stock to a simmer and add your Add the salt a bit at a time checking for a level of saltiness to season your rice but remember you will be adding salty parmesan at the end
- In a wide pan melt the butter on a medium heat and add the rice. Once the rice is hot and slightly toasted add the shallot. The shallot should take just 1 minute to cook. Keep stirring so the rice doesn’t catch.
- Add the the wine, stir and let it reduce and lower the heat under your pan.. Then start adding your hot stock a bit at a time. Most food writers will tell you to use a ladle but I’m all about saving washing up so you can just tip a bit at a time from your saucepan, stirring constantly and adding more until nearly absorbed each time - the rice should always be sloppy rather than dry - and then add another and so on.
- It usually takes 30 minutes to cook properly. Turning the heat up will not help your risotto cook any quicker – be patient
- Keep adding your stock until you are happy with the texture of the rice. It should have a bit of bite to it. When you finish, the rice mixture should still be sloppy. Remember that at this point the rice will continue to absorb the stock and you don’t want a gelatinous lump at the end so if you are worried that it's too dry, add a little more stock to allow for this absorption.
- When the risotto is ready, stir in the puree, whole peas, lemon zest, herbs, creme fraiché, parmesan and sugar snaps and make sure that everything is warm through. Check one last time for seasoning and serve
Nutrition
Calories: 471kcalCarbohydrates: 76gProtein: 11gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 29mgSodium: 2705mgPotassium: 375mgFiber: 7gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 1157IUVitamin C: 56mgCalcium: 81mgIron: 5mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!