Pea Risotto (Pee Risoto

Ingredients for the risotto:

• 350-400 g (12- 14 oz) Carnaroli rice (alternatively Arborio rice)
• 50 g (2 oz) Butter
• 1 Shallot (finely chopped)
• 100 ml ( 3½ fl oz) White wine
• 1 Litre ( 1 ¾ pints) of hot vegetable stock (I have to say that you often need more than 1 litre so have some extra stock handy)
• 75 g (3 oz) Frozen peas
• A blend of peas and mushrooms (see below)
• 50 g (2 oz) Grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt for seasoning
  

Ingredients for the pea and mushroom blend:

• 50 g (2 oz) Butter
• 1 Shallot (finely chopped)
• 20 g (¾ oz) Dried porcini mushrooms (a.k.a. Penny bun/Cep)
• 100 g (4 oz) Frozen peas
• 1 Ladleful of stock

First and foremost, before you start cooking, be sure that the first thing you do is prepare the stock so that it is readily available when required. The best thing to do is to have the stock just simmering, and no more, on the cooker.

Directions:

We start with the preparation of the pea and mushroom blend. Soak the mushrooms in a small bowl filled with hot water for 10 minutes. Then, drain the mushrooms and pat them dry with kitchen paper.

Chop the mushrooms finely and set them aside.

Take 100 g (4 oz) of frozen peas, put them in boiling water, bring to the boil and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Then, drain them and set aside.

Take 50 g (2 oz) of butter and melt it in a frying pan. Immediately after, add one shallot, finely chopped.

Sweat over a medium heat for about 3 minutes.

Then, add the mushrooms and...

...stir. Continue cooking for about 4-5 minutes.

Then, add the peas you set aside earlier.

Stir and continue cooking for about 5 minutes.

After, put the contents of the pan in the blender.

Add a ladleful of hot stock.

Blitz until you get a nice green velvety cream (mushrooms have not to be seen).

Now, we prepare the risotto. Put 50 g (2 oz) of the butter in a large pan and melt the butter. Add the finely chopped shallot and...

...sweat over a medium heat for about 3-5 minutes or until the shallot is soft.

Add the rice and...

...stir until the rice is completely coated with the butter. You can see that the rice will start to become translucent. Keep stirring and sweat the rice for a minute or two.

Then, add the white wine, keep stirring and let the wine evaporate (it will probably take a couple of minutes).

Now, add the stock and turn the heat to medium/low. The stock, which is kept simmering in order to stay hot, should be added at the rate of a couple of ladlefuls at a time and when this is absorbed, add more stock. Carry on in this way for about 15 minutes. During this stage, do not leave the pan alone and stir regularly (gently).

After 15 minutes, you will probably need an extra 3 to 5 minutes to complete the final stage of cooking (this time depends on the type of rice you are using). From now on, taste the rice every minute until the rice is cooked “al dente” (this means that the rice is tender outside, but still slightly firm to the bite in the centre). At the same time, the tasting will tell you if you need to adjust seasoning with salt. Regular but gentle stirring is required for the last minutes in order to avoid the risotto sticking to the bottom of the pan.

In these last minutes, if the stock is completely absorbed, you can gradually add a bit more (say a half ladle at a time) because at this final stage you do not want the risotto becoming too watery.

Now, at this 15 minutes deadline, add 75 g (3 oz) of frozen peas and turn the heat up for few seconds and then bring the heat back to medium/low again.

Stir and continue cooking as required.

About 2 minutes before the end, add the pea and mushroom blend.

Gently stir and...

...make sure that the risotto is evenly green.

When the rice is perfectly cooked "al dente", add the Parmesan cheese.

Stir for few seconds and then, put the cooker off. This time I did not add any further butter (as usually I do) because the pea and mushroom blend already contains 50 g of butter itself. This time Parmesan cheese is the only thing you need to complete the recipe.

Cover the pan with a lid for about 1 minute and allow the risotto to rest before serving it.