June Recipe – Pea, Broad Bean and Courgette summer risotto
A good risotto is a great dish to showcase seasonal ingredients from all parts of the world. Lia’s pea, broad bean and courgette summer risotto is inspired by Blaencamel farm’s seasonal, organic vegetable box and a popular Greek blogger video (Cucina Caruso) summing up the correct method for an authentic Italian risotto step by step. The result is a risotto recipe where Greece meets Wales and Italy in one plate.
Make sure you make time to enjoy the process of your risotto making selecting some nice music and a beautiful crisp white wine. Now more than ever we implore you to make time for the little joys in life and to enjoy the dolce vita. Eat seasonally, be positive and feel happy!
Order your seasonal Blaencamel veg box online http://www.blanecamelbox.com
Ingredients (for 4 people as a main)
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 125g butter
• 300g Arborio or other risotto rice
• 400g courgettes, coarsely grated
• 300g fresh peas and broad beans
• 1-1.5 litre vegetable stock
• 15 g fresh mint leaves
• 1 tbsp dry dill or the tips of half a small fresh bunch finely chopped
• 100 ml white wine
• Some extra virgin olive oil
• Salt
• Freshly ground pepper to serve
• Grated parmesan cheese
• Some unwaxed lemon zest
Preparation (40min)
1. Prepare the hot stock and add the herbs to infuse it during the first stages of risotto preparation.
2. Coat the surface of a wide and deep pan with just enough olive oil and add the 50g of butter.
3. Once the butter melts add the onion with a pinch of salt and slowly sauté on low heat until it caramelises.
4. Turn the heat up and stir in the rice. Sauté for a minute making sure that every grain is coated in butter.
5. Pour a ladle of the warm stock and stir whilst the rice slowly absorbs it. Only add another ladle of stock once the previous has been absorbed.
6. When one third of the way through the stock add the peas and broad beans together with another ladle of stock and stir until the rice absorbs it. To blanch the peas and beans place in in hot water off the hob for 5 minutes. You can skip blanching if you prefer the beans al dente.
7. Two thirds into the stock add the grated courgette, stirring and allowing the vegetable juice to slowly seep out flavouring the risotto.
8. Then add the wine, stir and when it is absorbed continue adding the stock until you are left with one ladle.
9. Add the last ladle and immediately remove the risotto from the hob.
10. Add the rest of the butter(75g), stir and let the risotto set for a few minutes to create the creamy finish.
11. Serve this delicious risotto with grated parmesan, the grated rind of one lemon and freshly ground pepper.
Enjoy with a chilled glass of Greek Malagouzia/Malvasia or Assyrtiko white wine.
Lia's Kitchen 
July 7, 2017 at 4:42 pm
looks good Lia, even to my Italian palate/eye: not traditional but I would say authentic (apart perhaps fro the dry dill, that no Italian would ever sue)
. Let me point out a couple of things that might be useful
1) in contemporary Italian cooking the use of fat has been greatly reduced. One can toast the risotto “a secco” in a dry skillet and cook the minced onions separately in a little water. then the two can be combined. this means that one can use all the butter at the end, to “mantecare”: this allows the butter flavor to really come through + 125 g butter for 4 people seems quite a lot
2) the wine is traditionally added at the beginning. If one does not have a white wine already opened, dry vermouth can be a good substitute (the advantage of using vermouth is that it never goes off, whiles wine goes off quickly). I now sometimes add just a few teaspoons of vermouth right at the very end, to give an extra aroma.
nice recipe. thanks. ciao stefano
July 8, 2017 at 8:37 am
Thank you Stefano! Really good tips. I really like the vermouth idea
September 19, 2017 at 3:28 pm
Stefano I am so sorry I never replied to you. You are right about the butter and thanks for your wine tip. I guess adding it in the end reflected my own jumbled approach