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Spring pea risotto

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Fresh, sweet peas combined with luxurious fat grains of rice makes for an exceptional spring dish, with just enough heartiness if the weather isn’t yet that warm. For the pea pod stock, blanching the pods is essential to transform their bitter raw taste into a beautiful clean pea flavour.

Equipment and preparation: for this recipe you will need a food processor that can blend ice.

Ingredients

For the pea stock

  • 350g/12oz fresh pea pods, shelled, shells reserved (use the shells for the stock and the peas for the purée and vegetables)
  • 350ml/12fl oz iced water

For the pea purée

  • 100g/3½oz fresh peas (shelled weight)
  • 10g unsalted butter

For the risotto

  • ½ onion, diced
  • 2 tbsp refined olive oil (or 30g/1oz unsalted butter)
  • 1 small garlic clove, finely grated
  • 200g/7oz risotto rice
  • 100ml/3½fl oz white wine, plus extra to finish (optional)
  • 40²µ/1½´Ç³ú freshly grated Parmesan (or a similar vegetarian hard cheese, such as Twineham Grange)
  • ¼ lemon, juice only
  • 50ml/2fl oz extra virgin olive oil (or 50g/1¾oz unsalted butter)

For the vegetables

  • 5g unsalted butter
  • 120g/4oz baby courgettes, cut into 2mm slices
  • 140g/5oz fresh peas (shelled weight)
  • 40²µ/1½´Ç³ú French breakfast radish, sliced
  • 40²µ/1½´Ç³ú radish tops
  • 40²µ/1½´Ç³ú baby leaf spinach
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To garnish

  • 15²µ/½´Ç³ú pea shoots, blanched in boiling water for 5 seconds
  • 20²µ/¾´Ç³ú Parmesan shavings (or a similar vegetarian hard cheese, such as Twineham Grange)

This recipe is from...

Kew on a Plate

1. Spring

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