This risotto is spring on a plate. We're lucky to have lots of peas and beans in our Kitchen Gardens, but if you can't lay your hands on a fresh crop, it's one of those recipes we can honestly say works just as well with frozen peas.
People are often wary of making risotto and think they'll have to spend the whole evening chained to the stove, stirring away and ending up with a gloopy mush. But if you follow these steps, we think you'll be converted. It's creamy but fresh and the addition of lemon at the end really cuts through the richness of the butter and cheese!
Pea & Broadbean Risotto
Serves four as a starter
Ingredients
- 100g fresh or frozen peas
- 100g broad beans
- 30g butter or 2 tablespoons rapeseed oil
- 1/2 white onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 250g arborio rice
- 75ml dry white wine
- 1 litre hot vegetable stock
- 50g butter, cut into, small cubes
- 50g Duckett's aged Caerphilly from Westcombe Dairy (a mature semi-hard cheese) or parmesan, grated
- juice of 1 lemon
- 10g fresh mint, shredded
Method
Briefly cook the peas and broad beans in salted boiling water for 3-4 minutes, than drain and submerge in cold water to cool.
Melt the butter (or heat the oil) and sweat the onion and garlic gently over a medium heat - be careful not to colour it.
Once the onions are softened, add the rice and cook for a few minutes before adding any liquid.
Now add the wine; once it's well-reduced, begin adding the vegetable stock - one ladle at a time. Before adding the next ladleful, you'll need to cook the stock out so it's absorbed into the rice. Repeat this for the next 12 minutes or so until the rice is cooked.
Once the base is cooked, you can fold in your broad beans and peas. Add 50g butter and around half the grated cheese.
Using a wooden spoon, slowly work the butter and cheese into the risotto until it's creamy and rich. Adjust the seasoning with salt and lemon juice to your taste.
Sprinkle the chopped mint and the rest of the grated cheese on top, and serve. Broad bean leaves and cornflowers make a pretty garnish.
You can find more dishes like this in THE PIG: 500 Miles of Food, Friends and Local Legends Book, which you can buy here.
