Super Fabulous Spring Pea Risotto

March 10, 2012

This super fabulous recipe for pea risotto is the perfect dish to welcome spring. Fresh sweet peas are popping up in farmer's market and any cook should take advantage of its season. Risotto is a rice dish from Italy that is made by stirring small amounts of stock ( to release the starches) to create a creamy consistency. Vegetables, meat, and grated parmesan cheese are added at the end to finish the dish. Start off spring right with pea risotto.

Pea Risotto

Ingredients:

8 cups chicken stock

1/4 cup butter

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (evo)

2 cups finely chopped onions

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 cups Arborio Rice

2/3 cup DRY white wine

3/4 cup peas

2/3 cup grated Parmesan

1 bay leaf

salt& pepper

Directions:

Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat, add evo, bay leaf and onions. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until onions are translucent. Add minced garlic. Saute until tender, roughly 8 minutes.

Stir in the rice and toast it for a few minutes. Add wine, cook until the liquid is absorbed, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of HOT chicken broth at a time, making sure the liquid is absorbed, stirring often. This process should be done over medium low heat and will take about 28 minutes. Add 1 cup of chicken broth roughly every 3 minutes. Cook the rice until tender and mixture is creamy.

Continue to stir in the peas, Parmesan, salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the mixture has absorbed all the liquid. It will double in size. Let cool and don't eat it all. For some reason, the mixture doesn't last long around my house.