Creamy risotto with peas, a green pea shoot puree, and Parmesan. The microgreens go in twice: blended into the rice and fresh on top. No cream, 40 minutes.
INGREDIENTS
- 80 g - pea microgreens (pea shoots)
- 800 ml - chicken or vegetable broth
- 30 g - butter
- 60 g - onion
- 160 g - arborio or carnaroli rice
- 80 ml - dry white wine
- 100 g - frozen peas
- 40 g - grated Parmesan
- salt and black pepper to taste
STEPS
- Set aside half the pea microgreens for serving. Blend the other 40 g with 100 ml of the broth into a smooth green puree. Heat the rest of the broth and keep it at a bare simmer.
- Melt 20 g butter in a wide pot over medium heat and cook the finely chopped onion for 4-5 minutes, until translucent.
- Add the rice and stir for 1-2 minutes, until the grains turn translucent at the edges. Pour in the wine and stir until it cooks off.
- Add the hot broth one ladle at a time, stirring constantly, and add the next once the last is almost absorbed. After 12 minutes, stir in the peas.
- After 18-20 minutes from the first ladle, when the rice is soft outside and just firm at the center, stir in the green puree and heat for 2 minutes.
- Take off the heat, stir in the remaining butter and the Parmesan, and season with salt and pepper. Cover for 1 minute, spoon onto plates, and top with the fresh pea microgreens.
Pea Microgreens in Risotto
Pea risotto is usually made with peas alone, and it comes out sweet but pale. Pea microgreens add the taste of a fresh pod and a bright green color. Peas are one of the few microgreens that hold up to heat, so they go in twice here: half blended with broth into a green puree that’s stirred into the rice, and half on top, fresh.
About the Ingredients
Pea microgreens: 80 g for two servings, 40 g in the puree and 40 g on top. Sunflower microgreens work as a swap, with a paler color.
Rice: arborio or carnaroli. Regular short-grain rice falls apart and doesn’t keep a firm center.
Broth: chicken or vegetable, and always hot. Cold broth stops the simmer, and the rice cooks unevenly.
Parmesan: grated right before serving.
Technique: Broth One Ladle at a Time
Toast the rice in butter with the onion for 1-2 minutes, until the grains turn translucent at the edges. Then the wine, then the broth one ladle at a time, adding the next once the last is almost absorbed. Stirring releases starch, and the risotto turns creamy without any cream. It takes 18-20 minutes in all. Done rice is soft outside and just firm at the center. Stir in the green puree for the last 2 minutes so the color stays bright.
Variations
- With lemon: zest of half a lemon along with the parmesan.
- With mint: 5-6 mint leaves in the green puree.
- With bacon: crisp bacon or pancetta on top.
- With shrimp: shrimp seared for 2-3 minutes at the end.
Serving and Storage
Serve risotto right away: within 10 minutes it thickens and loses its creaminess. Reheat leftovers with a spoonful of broth, or roll them into arancini. How long pea microgreens keep is in our wiki: microgreen shelf life.
Another hot dish with pea microgreens: stir-fried pea shoots with garlic.
CHEF'S TIPS
Risotto should spread across the plate in a wave. If it holds a mound, stir in another ladle of broth.
Parmesan is salty, so salt after it goes in.
