I love spring! I love it for many reasons but the main one being that it ushers in all sorts of produce that makes me happy AND it peony season and they are my most favorite flowers of all times. One of my favorite spring items (besides peonies) is peas!! You can put them on just about anything and they'll lend a pop of color and a burst of freshness which is exactly what I wanted in this Spring Pea Risotto!
Risotto is a long lost art form I think. It's so simple to make but it requires a few minutes of undivided attention so we often forget about it. It's not like it takes 2 hours of focus, I mean, have you met me... I'd never make it!! But the few minutes needed to whip this up result in a creamy, cheesy rice dish that can take on any flavor - today it's lemon and peas! Perfect for spring. Also - side note (since I know you'll ask!) how gorgeous is this risotto pan!? it's a Lagostina and the top doubles as a serving trivet. I'm OBSESSED!! You'll be seeing a lot more risotto over here in the coming weeks!
Fresh Pea Risotto
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 shallots diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup Arborio Rice
- ½ cup dry White Wine
- 2 ½ cups Chicken Stock
- ½ cup Parmesan Cheese
- ⅓ cup mascarpone Cheese
- 1 ½ cups fresh peas quickly blanched
- pea tendrils to garnish
- lemon wedges
- kosher salt and white pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the shallot and sauté until translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for about 1 minute. Add the Arborio rice to the skillet, making sure to stir it around in the olive oil so that each granule is coated with it, and toast it for about 90 seconds.
- Add the white wine and stir the rice until all the wine has been absorbed and then start adding the chicken stock ½ cup at a time, making sure not to add more until the previous addition has been absorbed.
- Once the rice is just tender, add the Parmesan and mascarpone cheese and combine. Add the previously blanched peas and carefully combine into the risotto. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with pea tendrils if available and a squeeze or two of lemon juice and serve.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Photo by Matt Armendariz / Food Styling by Adam Pearson / Recipe from What’s Gaby Cooking
So delicious and creamy! I leave out mascarpone and use 3/4 cup Parmesan instead.
This was amazing! My whole family loved it!
Is there an alternative to the white wine?
for the life of me I can't not find the serving # on this recipe
4!
Can you make this with frozen peas?
sure can! just give them a quick blanch to warm them up and then toss into the risotto
The perfect Spring dish! Delicious!
Hi, love all of your recipes. Can’t wait to try this one. Could I use cream cheese instead? Or ricotta? Thanks x
cream cheese!