Description
This Spring Pea Risotto with lemon and mint can be made with fresh or frozen peas. Savory and delicious on its own as a vegetarian dinner, or top it with seared fish or scallops.
Ingredients
Pea Risotto
- 4 cups vegetable broth or chicken stock, warmed
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 shallots ( or sub 1 leek or 1 white onion) diced
- 2 garlic cloves, rough chopped
- 1 cup Arborio rice
- 1/2 cup dry white wine (or sub water with 1 teaspoon lemon juice)
- 2 cups peas, fresh ( blanched) or sub frozen peas
- 1/2 cup grated Pecorino cheese or sub-parmesan cheese
- zest of one lemon
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup fresh mint, packed, sliced
- Drizzle of truffle oil.
Optional additions: Aleppo Chili flakes or Urfa Biber, microgreens, sauteed mushrooms, pan-seared fish or scallops
Instructions
- Heat 4 cups vegetable broth in a medium pot.
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In a heavy-bottom pot or Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-low heat and saute shallots and garlic until fragrant and golden, about 5 minutes, stirring.
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Add the arborio rice and stir to coat for one minute. Add white wine to deglaze the pan and simmer until the wine has completely been absorbed. Add one cup of hot broth and stir every 45-60 seconds, letting the rice absorb it slowly over medium-low heat, about 5 minutes. Continue adding one cup at a time, each time allowing the rice to slowly absorb the broth until the rice is tender (yet still holding its shape). This will take about 20 minutes.
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At the same time, blanch the fresh peas. Bring a small pot of salted water to boil. Once boiling, add the peas and simmer for 2-3 minutes, until tender; drain and set aside.
- Add ½ cup blanched peas to a blender with ½ cup water and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Blend until silky smooth. Add a handful of spinach to bump up the color even more. Blend until smooth again (it’s okay to add a little water to get the blades going). Set this aside.
- When the risotto is tender and you are close to serving it, fold in the pecorino cheese, lemon zest, the blanched peas, and the pea puree. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in ⅔ of the mint, saving the rest for the garnish.
- Taste, adjust salt, pepper, and lemon, adding more to taste. Add chili flakes if you like.
- Divide pea risotto among bowls, add a drizzle of truffle oil to elevate.
Notes
Top with pan-seared fish, shrimp or scallops: Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat, season with salt and pepper, and sear the fish or scallops until a deep golden edge forms, about 3 minutes; turn and sear the other side, a cooked to desired doneness. Squeeze with lemon and place atop the risotto.
Fish options: Halibut, Salmon, Sea Bass, Black Cod, Alaskan Wild Cod, Steelhead. If using skin-on, fish crisp the skin, placing it skin side up so it remains crispy.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ½ cups
- Calories: 357
- Sugar: 10.7 g
- Sodium: 722.3 mg
- Fat: 14.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 43 g
- Fiber: 4.3 g
- Protein: 11.7 g
- Cholesterol: 7.2 mg
