18 Aug pea risotto

A risotto may not immediately seem like a speedy supper; the cook must spend time with the risotto as it bubbles over the stove, stirring repeatedly until the Arborio rice is plump and oozing with stock and white wine. In fact, it’s actually quite a slow supper, in that the cook needs to stop and pay attention to it, rather than multi-tasking while the supper cooks. Take the opportunity to slow down and focus on one thing while making my pea risotto.

Pea risotto 

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 25 to 30 minutes

Serves 2

Ingredients

25g butter

1 small onion, finely diced

2 rashers of smoked streaky bacon, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely diced

150g Arborio rice

100ml white wine

800ml hot vegetable stock

150g frozen peas

25g Parmesan, grated, plus more to serve

Method

1. Heat the butter in a large frying pan over a medium to high heat. Fry the onion and bacon for 3 minutes before adding the garlic clove. Fry for a further 2 minutes. Add the Arborio rice and mix well. Pour in the white wine and allow to bubble away until the wine has been completely absorbed by the rice, stirring consistently.

2. Pour the hot vegetable stock into a saucepan and bring to simmer on the hob. Add one ladleful of the stock to the risotto and stir until it has been absorbed by the rice, stirring consistently. Repeat until the stock is gone or the rice has become oozy and plump. Taste the rice to make sure it’s cooked yet still al dente. This process should take about 20 to 25 minutes.

3. Pour the frozen peas into a bowl and cover with boiling hot water. Drain and stir through the risotto. Add the Parmesan cheese to the risotto and stir well. Finally, serve the risotto with an extra sprinkling of Parmesan and a crack of black pepper.

This recipe first appeared in The Irish Independent on August 13th