Spring Pea, Mint and Goats Cheese Risotto with Pea Shoots and Crème Fraiche

Spring Pea, Mint and Goats Cheese Risotto with Pea Shoots and Crème Fraiche
Main INGREDIENTS
  • Vegetables
Ingredients
Method

Ingredients

  • 2 bunches spring onions - trimmed
  • 1.5 litres light chicken or vegetable stock
  • 75g butter
  • 350g risotto rice, such as Arborio or Carnaroli
  • 100ml dry white wine
  • 200g sugar snap peas
  • 15g young, fresh mint leaves - finely chopped
  • 1½ tablespoons olive oil
  • 200g petit pois peas
  • 75g Parmesan cheese - finely grated
  • 150g creamy fresh goats’ cheese - crumbled
  • 3 tablespoons crème fraiche
  • A small handful of pea shoots
  • Salt and freshly ground white pepper
  • Method

  • 1
    Thinly slice the spring onions, separating the white part from the green. Bring the stock to the boil in a pan and keep hot over a low heat.
  • 2
    Melt the butter in the casserole, add the white part of the spring onions, and cook gently over a medium-low heat for 2 minutes.
  • 3
    Add the rice to the pan and stir until all the grains are coated in butter. Add the white wine and simmer until it has all been absorbed. Add a large ladleful of the hot stock and simmer, stirring until it has all been absorbed before adding another. Continue like this, stirring all the time, until the rice is creamy but still with a little bite to it ? this should take about 25 minutes in total.
  • 4
    In between stirring, put the sugar snap peas into a pan of boiling salted water and cook for 3 minutes until just tender. Drain and refresh under cold water until the peas are cold, then split open lengthways.
  • 5
    After the risotto has been cooking for 20 minutes, and you have nearly added all of the stock, stir the lemon zest, 50g of the Parmesan cheese and the goats? cheese into the risotto, followed by the green spring onion tops, petit pois peas and sugar snap peas. Cook for 2-3 minutes until everything has heated through. Add the remaining stock to the dish and stir.
  • 6
    Stir in the chopped mint and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve straight away, garnished with a teaspoonful of crème fraiche, a sprinkling of extra Parmesan cheese and the pea shoots.