Pea and mint risotto

‘A sophisticated alternative to mushy peas.’

If I were inclined towards guilt one of my major guilty pleasures would be come dine with me. a trashy reality TV show where five people have dinner parties and slowly come to loathe each other over a week. In most cases the food is the least interesting part of the show being usually either disgustingly pretentious or just disgusting. However, on two occasions there were dishes that appeared on the show and have, after some experimentation, been added to my repertoire. This is an indulgent main to serve with goats cheese and any kind of beetroot salad or a truly decadent side dish for fish. The mint makes it if you don't have mint make something else, it’s foul without it.

Pea and mint risotto part one (pea pesto)

Frozen peas or broad beans (about 250g, peas if you’re making the risotto)
Parmesan (one wedge from the supermarket)
Mint (as much as you can me arsed to pick)
Lemon (half zest, some of the juice, to taste)
Salt (to taste, always)

Put it all in the food processor and whizz the hell out of it.Salt it after it is all blended because it’s hard to account for the Parmesan. Make a lot regardless of how much risotto you’re making this is nice on toast or dip in it like hummus the difficulty is that broad beans work better for dipping and spreading but peas are best for risotto.

Pea and mint risotto part two (risotto base)
This is a fairly generic risotto base but is more acidic than risotto usually is this is necessary due to the sweetness of the peas. Omit the vinegar and peas then go hog wild with adding your own flavours to this.

Risotto rice (most of a pack, 400g)
An onion
Some garlic (to taste)
White wine (or vermouth)
White wine vinegar (or lemon for a different character)
Butter
Vegetable stock (homemade is best, store bought is fine)

Finely chop your onion and mince your garlic and soften them in butter, don't stir too much but don’t allow them to colour. Meanwhile bring your vegetable stock to the boil (if you have mint stalks, and you should if you’re making the pesto, add them to the stock as well as the rind of the parmesan.
Add your risotto rice and cook until translucent and thoroughly coated with the oniony butter.
Add a good glug of vinegar and a small cup of vermouth, or a large cup of wine. The stirring begins. Stir constantly until all of the liquid has been absorbed. Then add the stock one ladle at a time and allow it to absorb stir constantly to release the starch.
When the rice has almost cooked (taste it) add stock aiming for a consistency that would barely flow if you tipped the plate.
Stir the pesto into the rice then taste and season.

Serve in a wide bowl with a rocket (or watercress) and beetroot salad.

Comments

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