Creamy Pea Risotto with Pea Purée

Risotto with peas in a plate topped with gratd parmigiano reggiano

Creamy Pea Risotto with Pea Purée

Made with frozen peas, arborio rice, onion, parmesan cheese, lemon zest and vegetable broth, this risotto is cooked on the stove to perfection. The recipe uses the classic Italian technique of "risottare" where warm broth is added as the rice cooks and dries out, until it's fully cooked and creamy. Just remember to keep stirring!

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine Italian

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 40

Servings people

Calories 753kcal

Author Pina Bresciani

Ingredients

2 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
½ cup white (or yellow) onion cut into small dice
2 cups frozen peas
3 tablespoon water
170 grams arborio rice
¼ cup white wine
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 tablespoon parmigiano reggiano grated
1.5 litres warm vegetable stock approximate
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

In a shallow pan, over medium heat, add the olive oil. Heat through.
Add the onion and cook until fragrant and golden in color, about 3-5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Add in the peas, with 3 tablespoon water. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until tender and just cooked through.
Remove 1 ¼ cups of the peas and blend with an immersion blender until a smooth purée forms. Set the remaining cooked peas and the purée aside.

Make the risotto

In a pan over medium heat, add the rice.
Toast the rice for about 2 minutes, then add in the wine.
Let the alcohol evaporate off (a few minutes). You will know the alcohol has evaporated off when you can't smell the alcohol anymore.
Add in one ladle of vegetable broth. Stir often, or else the rice will stick to the bottom of the pan.
Once the vegetable stock dries up, add another ladle. Keep stirring the risotto.
Repeat the process of adding one ladle of stock and stirring until the rice is almost fully cooked. I do this about 5 times.
When the rice has about 1 minute left of cook time, add in the pea purée and the peas. Stir. Adjust for salt and pepper.
When the rice is cooked, remove from the heat.
Off heat, add in the butter, parmigiano and lemon zest. Stir again.
Plate, top with more parmigiano and enjoy!

Notes

Storage and reheating:

Risotto is best served as soon as it's made, however if you have leftovers, store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days
Reheat on the stove in a pan with a little bit of olive oil. Add a small amount of water if necessary

Type of rice to use:

I generally use arborio rice to make risotto, but any Italian rice will work, like carnaroli rice, or vialone nano. These are generally the 3 types of rice used to make an authentic Italian risotto.

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