Springtime Risotto Recipes

Steps:

• Add 1 tablespoon butter and olive oil to a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Once butter foams add the onion and saute until tender and soft, about 6 minutes.
• Season the onion with salt and pepper. Add the rice and cook while stirring, until you can hear the rice crackle softly, and it becomes translucent around the edges. Add the wine and cook, while stirring, until the wine is almost dry and absorbed.
• Once wine has been absorbed, add 1 cup hot broth at a time, stirring until almost all the liquid is absorbed, and then adding more. Cook until the rice is tender, about 25 to 30 minutes.
• Stir in the blanched asparagus and peas. Cook until the peas are very bright green and the asparagus is warmed through. Remove from heat and add the remaining 1tablespoon butter and the finely grated Parmesan.

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the leeks and fennel and saute for 5 to 7 minutes, until tender. Add the rice and stir for a minute to coat with the vegetables, oil, and butter. Add the white wine and simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, until most of the wine has been absorbed. Add the chicken stock, 2 ladles at a time, stirring almost constantly and waiting for the stock to be absorbed before adding more. This process should take 25 to 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cut the asparagus diagonally in 1 1/2-inch lengths and discard the tough ends. Blanch in boiling salted water for 4 to 5 minutes, until al dente. Drain and cool immediately in ice water. (If using fresh peas, blanch them in boiling water for a few minutes until the starchiness is gone.)
• When the risotto has been cooking for 15 minutes, drain the asparagus and add it to the risotto with the peas, lemon zest, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Continue cooking and adding stock, stirring almost constantly, until the rice is tender but still firm.
• Whisk the lemon juice and mascarpone together in a small bowl. When the risotto is done, turn off the heat and stir in the mascarpone mixture plus the Parmesan cheese and chives. Set aside, off the heat, for a few minutes, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve hot with a sprinkling of chives and more Parmesan cheese.

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Prepare a bowl of ice water. Add the asparagus to the pot and blanch, just until bright green, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to the ice water to stop the cooking, about 30 seconds. Transfer the asparagus to a colander to drain. Repeat with the English peas, sugar snap peas, and fiddleheads.
• Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté just until translucent, about 30 seconds. Add the rice and stir until opaque, about 1 minute.
• Stir the wine into the rice, bring to a simmer, and cook, stirring periodically, until the rice absorbs the wine, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1 cup/240ml stock and 2 teaspoons salt, return to a simmer, and let cook until the liquid has been absorbed. Spread the rice mixture on a baking sheet and set aside until you are ready to finish the dish, or skip this step and keep cooking, continuing with adding the hot stock.
• About 15 minutes before you're ready to serve, return the rice mixture to the sauté pan and cook over medium heat. Stir 1 cup/240ml of the hot stock into the rice mixture and cook until the moisture has been nearly absorbed. Season with salt and pepper. Repeat for the remaining 3 cups/720ml of stock, adding 1 cup/240ml at a time. When you still see liquid pooling here and there in the pan, remove from the heat and stir in the blanched vegetables and the Parmesan. Quickly stir in the pesto and serve.
• Store risotto, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
• Do Ahead
• To prepare the risotto ahead of time, cook the vegetables and the rice up until you add the wine and 1 cup/240ml of stock. Once the rice has absorbed the liquid, spread the rice and onion mixture on a baking sheet to hold until you're ready to finish cooking. Just before dinner, return the rice to the pot and resume cooking until done.

Steps:

• If using fresh broad beans, drop them into boiling water, leave for 1 min, then drain and cool under cold water. Peel off the skins. For frozen beans, just thaw, then peel. Chop the shallots, spring onions and garlic as finely as you possibly can. Snap the woody bases from the asparagus spears and discard. Slice each spear into 4 diagonal pieces. Pour the stock into a separate pan and bring to a simmer.
• Heat the oil and half the butter in a heavy, wide pan. Tip in the shallots, spring onions and garlic and cook for 3-4 mins until soft and see-through, but not brown, stirring often. With the heat on medium, add the rice and keep it moving with a wooden spoon for a few mins so it gets toasted, but not coloured, and very hot. Once it starts to hiss and sizzle, pour in the wine. Keep stirring for about a min until the wine has evaporated.
• Put the timer on for 20 mins (it takes 18-20 mins to add the stock), now add 11⁄2 ladles of stock, letting it simmer, not boil. Keep stirring until all the liquid is absorbed, scraping the sides of the pan to catch any stray bits of rice. Continue to stir and add a ladleful of stock once the previous amount has been absorbed. (If you add too much stock at a time the risotto won't be as creamy.) The rice tells you when it needs more stock. You will hear it sigh and when you pull a spoon across the bottom of the pan it should leave a clear line
• After 14 mins add the beans and peas to the rice with some seasoning. At the same time, drop the asparagus into the stock and let it simmer for 4 mins, then lift out with a slotted spoon and add to the rice. Start tasting the rice now too - when done it should be softened, but with a bit of bite in the centre, almost chewy, and the risotto creamy - overcooking just makes it mushy. Continue adding stock and stirring until done (you may have a little stock left). Take the pan off the heat, add half the parmesan and the rest of the butter plus a splash of stock to keep everything moist. Put the lid on the pan and leave for 3 mins to rest. Serve with the remaining parmesan.

Steps:

• Heat oil and butter in a medium-size heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir in fennel, red pepper, onion, and garlic. In a small bowl, mix together lemon zest, mint, parsley, and rosemary. Stir half of this herb mixture into saucepan, and set the rest aside. Saute vegetables until slightly softened, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Stir in coriander and rice. Cook, stirring frequently, until rice grains are thoroughly coated with oil and butter. Stir in wine, then reduce heat to low. Stir in about 1 cup of vegetable broth. Continue to stir while ladling in more broth as needed; rice should have a thin veil of broth over it at all times. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes, until all broth is used and absorbed, and rice is tender.
• Remove pan from heat and stir in remaining herb mixture, lemon juice and Parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover pan loosely with waxed paper and allow to stand 8 to 10 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Fill a large pot with water and season generously with salt. Bring to a boil. Add asparagus and cook for 90 seconds. Plunge asparagus into ice water to stop the cooking. Dry well and cut into 1/2-inch pieces.
• Put chives, tarragon leaves and parsley into a food processor. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. With machine on, add oil through feed tube. Purée until a coarse paste forms.
• Bring chicken broth to a simmer and add garlic. Place a medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Add enough oil to film the base. Add rice and stir to coat. Continue stirring until lightly toasted, then pour in wine and cook until it is absorbed.
• Begin ladling in broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until each addition is absorbed. Cook until rice is al dente, but quite loose. Discard garlic. Remove from heat, and stir in herb oil, then butter and asparagus. Spoon onto plates and shower with cheese.

Steps:

• Tip the rice into a pan of boiling, lightly salted water. Boil gently for 6 minutes then drain in a sieve. There should still be a white core in the centre of the grains. Spread the part-cooked rice on a clean tray, cool, then chill until you are ready to finish the risotto. If covered with cling film, the rice can be kept for up to 24 hours. Shave about 25g off the parmesan wedge and set aside for later. Finely grate the rest and save for use in Step 8.
• Blanch the broad beans for 1 minute in boiling water then drain and rinse them in a colander under cold water. Using your fingers, pop each bean from its skin. (Thawed frozen beans can be popped without blanching.)
• Trim the asparagus and cut the spears at an angle into lozenge shapes. Bring 1 litre of water to the boil in a large pan, add 1 tsp of sea salt, then the asparagus, shelled peas and beans. Return to a gentle boil and cook for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, put lots of ice cubes into a large bowl half filled with cold water.
• Drain the vegetables in a colander set over a bowl to catch and save the cooking water, then tip them straight into the bowl of iced water. When cold, drain again and set aside.
• Pour the saved vegetable water into a pan and whisk in the stock powder. When ready to finish the risotto, bring the stock to the boil and keep it on a simmer.
• In another large pan, gently sauté the shallot, spring onions and garlic in the 2 tablespoons of oil and half the butter for 3-5 minutes until softened. Stir in the wine and cook until reduced by half.
• Tip in the rice. Now add a ladle of boiling stock and stir until it is absorbed. Add the remaining stock, a ladle at a time, stirring until absorbed before you add more. This takes about 8 minutes, by which time the mixture should be slightly sloppy, not dry. You may not need all the stock. The rice is cooked when it is just softened and has a nice shiny glaze. Remove the garlic clove.
• Gently stir in the vegetables and remaining chives and return to a gentle simmer, adding a little extra stock if needed. Stir in the last of the butter, the grated parmesan and the mascarpone. Check the seasoning. Divide immediately between four warmed shallow bowls, drizzle over a little oil and scatter the parmesan shavings onto each serving.