Asparagus      & Peas

Risotto

Ingredients:

Risotto rice

Parmesan cheese

Mint & Pea shoots

Lemon

Butter

Petit pois

Sugar snap peas

Asparagus

White wine

Chicken broth

Shallot

1

          Prepare the Spring vegetables. Dice the shallot, and slice the sugar snap peas on a diagonal into three smaller pieces. Trim any woody ends from the asparagus spears and slice them on a diagonal into 1-inch pieces.

2

          Cook the asparagus and peas in a saucepan of boiling salted water. Add the sugar snap peas first for 1 minute, then add the asparagus for a further 2 minutes, and finally add the peas for a final minute. Drain and immediately plunge into a bowl of ice-cold water to halt the cooking process.

3

      Melt butter in a large saucepan or Dutch oven on the stovetop until it stops crackling, and then saute the diced shallot in butter until translucent. Stir in the risotto rice and allow it to toast for a minute in the butter and shallot.

4

      Pour in the white wine and stir it through the rice until 80% absorbed, keeping it moving so that the rice absorbs the liquid and doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan and form a crust.

5

            Add the hot chicken broth one ladle full at a time. Continue to stir over medium heat as the rice absorbs the new liquid, then add another ladle. Repeat until the rice is opaque white and no longer translucent, and tender to taste whilst still retaining a small amount of bite.

6

            Stir through the cooked Spring vegetables and half a ladle of broth and bring them up to temperature for another couple of minutes.

7

             Turn off the heat and stir through a few teaspoons grated parmesan cheese and fresh mint. Squeeze in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.