Pea risotto
Ingredients:
- Rice (320 g)
- Peas (300 g)
- Vegetable stock (1.2 L)
- Onion (50 g)
- Butter (40 g)
- Parmesan (60 g)
- Salt
- Pepper
Method:
A risotto worth sitting down for
Sweet peas make this a cheerful, gentle risotto, just as welcome on a busy evening as at a leisurely spring lunch. Allow about 35 minutes; frozen petits pois work beautifully, so there is no need to wait for pea season. This recipe serves four. Set out the ingredients before you start and use Carnaroli or Arborio rice, without rinsing it: its starch is what makes the risotto creamy.
Before you start
Keep 1.2 litres of vegetable stock hot over low heat. Finely chop the onion and grate the cheese. Have 300 g fresh or frozen small peas ready; the frozen ones can go straight into the pan.
Build the flavour
Melt 20 g butter in a wide, heavy pan. Soften the onion for five minutes without colouring it, then add the rice and stir for two minutes until the grains are hot and glossy.
Cook the rice
Add hot stock a ladle at a time, keeping the rice at a gentle, steady simmer. Stir regularly, sweeping the bottom of the pan, and add more liquid when the previous ladle is mostly absorbed, before the rice dries out. Start tasting after 15 minutes; most risotto rice needs 16–20 minutes from the first stock addition. It should be tender with a little resistance in the centre. You may not need all the stock; if it runs out, use hot water.
Add the peas after eight minutes of rice cooking. They should have time to become tender without losing all their freshness; taste one as you check the rice.
Finish and serve
Take the pan off the heat and stir in the remaining 20 g cold butter and 60 g finely grated Parmesan until glossy.
Taste for salt and pepper, then leave to rest for two minutes. Loosen with a splash of hot liquid if needed: the risotto should spread gently across a warm plate when you tap it, rather than sit in a stiff mound. Bring everyone to the table before serving; this is a dish that rewards being eaten straight away.