The flavours of this risotto sing of spring and summer - but it works all year round.
Recipe can be dairy free if dairy-free butter or olive oil is used instead of dairy butter and if a goat’s cheese alternative is used instead of goat’s cheese (dairy free cream cheese or dairy free feta cheese work well here). If using a stock cube or ready-made stock, check ingredients as needed. If you like you can also add some pea shoots to garnish the top.
This recipe is taken from my book Ginger Pig One Pot, which I wrote with the Ginger Pig butchery founder Tim Wilson. Photo by Sam Harris.
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Ingredients
frozen peas 50 g
goat's cheese 60 g
onion 1 (chopped)
celery 2 (chopped)
garlic cloves 2 (chopped)
extra-virgin olive oil 1 tbsp
butter 2
vegetable stock cube 2
risotto rice (arborio) 350 g
spinach 125 g (chopped)
lemon ½ (zest)
dry white wine 125 ml
Method
Make the risotto base
Before you start you can leave the frozen peas to defrost, and take the goat's cheese out of the fridge so it comes to room temperature.
Very finely chop the onion, celery and garlic.
Place a large, heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat and add the extra-virgin olive oil and 1 knob of the butter (or butter alternative or extra olive oil).
Once the butter has melted, add the onion and celery and a pinch of salt, and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring often, until the onion has softened but is not browning.
Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Make up the vegetable cube with 1200ml boiling water. You will use 1.1 litre stock for cooking the risotto and 100ml for the green purée.
Add the risottorice to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring to coat each grain in the fat.
Stir in the dry white wine and allow it to bubble away before you start adding the stock a ladleful at a time, waiting until it is absorbed before adding the next ladleful (using 1.1 litre stock and keeping the remaining 100ml for the purée).
Continue slowly adding the stock and stirring regularly for about 25 minutes, or until the rice is tender, the risotto is thick and creamy, and the stock has been used up.
Make the green purée
Place the spinach and peas into the jug of a blender and add the remaining 100ml stock (if you have pea shoots you can add a handful of them here too).
Blitz until absolutely smooth.
Finish the risotto
Zest the lemon.
Add a pinch of salt to taste, the second knob of butter and half the lemon zest to the risotto.
Remove from the heat and stir the greenpurée through the rice.
Taste to check the seasoning.
Serve the risotto with nuggets of the goat's cheese dotted on top, and the rest of the lemon zest.
