A recipe for an easy to make Italian risotto that uses seasonal spring vegetables
The Italians love to use seasonal ingredients in their cooking, making the most of the lovely fresh vegetables they find in the local markets. Soon there will be spring vegetables like early peas, tiny courgettes, asparagus and bright green broad beans – which are full of protein and vitamins A and C. This recipe for spring vegetable risotto (risotto primavera) makes the most of these young vegetables. Of course you can make it with frozen vegetables – but fresh, locally grown ones give the best flavour. Risotto is a dish from northern Italy.
Ingredients (serves 4)
- 150 grm/5 oz fresh peas
- 115 g / 4 oz asparagus tips
- 30 ml / 2 tsp olive oil
- 75 grm / 3 oz butter
- 2 small courgettes – sliced
- 1 red onion- finely chopped
- 275 grm / 10 oz risotto rice
- 120 ml / 4 fl oz dry white vermouth
- 1 litre / 1 ¾ pints vegetable (or chicken) stock
- 75 grm / 3 oz grated Parmesan cheese
- Handful fresh basil
- Salt and black pepper
Method
Cook the broad beans – they take around 5 minutes – in boiling salted water. Unless they are very young beans, remove the tough outer casing first. Drain and set aside. Then blanch the peas and the asparagus tips in the boiling water for 2 –3 minutes until tende (you might need longer if the tips are thick). Fresh young tips shouldn't need very long). Drain, refresh in cold water and set aside.
Heat the oil and some of the butter in a large pan and gently cook the courgettes for 2 –3 minutes until soft. Remove them and set aside. Then add the onion to the pan and sauté gently in the hot oil/butter.
Stir in the rice and keep stirring gently until it starts to swell and burst, then add the vermouth. Continue stirring until most of the vermouth has been absorbed, then add some of the stock. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Keep stirring over a low heat until the stock has soaked in.
Now keep cooking and stirring the mixture gently for around 25 minutes, adding the rest of the stock gradually. The rice should be al dente (it should have a bite and not be too soft) and the risotto should look creamy.
Then gently stir in the cooked vegetables, the rest of the butter and about half the grated Parmesan. Let them all heat up, then tear the basil leaves and add them to the mixture. Serve with grated Parmesan on top – and a fresh green salad.
If you don't want to use vermouth, just substitute with extra vegetable or chicken stock.
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