Pea and pesto risotto

Prep: 10 mins

Cook: 10 mins

I had this in the lovely Agriturismo Arabesque in Sicily and it came highly recommended by my host for the evening, Francesco Cucuru, who was keen to show me local home-style cooking. In between watching the highlights of the local Palermo soccer match, the chef was only too delighted to share his tip with me, which turned out to be simply stirring a fresh pesto into the risotto at the end. Yum!

150ml white wine

1.5 litres chicken stock, heated to simmering

200g frozen peas, defrosted

25g freshly grated Parmesan

2 tbsp pesto

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

knob of butter

1 onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

400g Arborio rice

Heat the olive oil and the knob of butter in a large, heavy-based saucepan. When the butter is foaming, add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, until it’s beginning to soften.

Add the garlic and rice and cook for a few minutes more, until the rice is shiny and opaque. Add the wine and simmer for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat and add the hot stock a ladleful at a time, stirring constantly until each ladleful is absorbed. Add the peas with the last ladle of stock. The rice should be creamy but still firm to the bite.

Remove from the heat and stir in the Parmesan and pesto. Season well. Drizzle with a little olive oil and serve immediately.

Adding about 3 tbsp of cream to a risotto gives an even richer texture. Risotto that has cream added at the end is called a Mantecato

Serves
4-6

Preparation Time
10 minutes

Cooking Time
10 minutes

Main ingredients
Vegetables, Rice

Recipe Type
Dinner, Entertaining, One Pot

Cuisine
Italian

Special Info
Egg free, Vegetarian

Level of Difficulty
Easy