Pea Risotto Recipe
Creamy risotto with bright green peas and Parmesan. The creaminess doesn’t come from cream; it comes from the starch released from the rice through constant stirring. The two non-negotiable techniques are keeping your broth warm and adding it one ladle at a time.
Ingredients
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 1 celery stalk, finely diced
- 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup dry white wine (like Pinot Grigio)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
- Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
Prepare the Broth and Soffritto
Pour the chicken broth into a medium saucepan and keep it at a bare simmer over low heat. Keeping the broth hot is critical; adding cold liquid to the rice will shock it and slow down the cooking process.
In a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter with the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallot and celery and cook for ~5-7 minutes, until softened and translucent.
Toast the Rice and Build the Risotto
Add the Arborio rice to the pot and stir constantly for about 2 minutes, until the edges of the grains look translucent. This step toasts the rice, giving it a slightly nutty flavor. Stir in the minced garlic and cook for one minute more until fragrant.
Pour in the white wine to deglaze the pot, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Let it bubble and cook until the wine has been almost completely absorbed by the rice.
Add the salt and pepper, then add one ladleful of the warm chicken broth to the rice. Stir constantly but gently with a wooden spoon. The motion is what abrades the rice grains, releasing the starch that creates the creamy texture.
Continue adding the broth one ladle at a time, waiting until each addition is mostly absorbed before adding the next. Keep stirring. This entire process will take ~20-25 minutes.
Finish and Serve
After about 20 minutes, start tasting the rice. It’s done when it’s tender with a slight al dente bite in the center. You may not need to use all of the broth.
Stir in the frozen peas and cook for 2 minutes more.
Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter, the grated Parmesan cheese, fresh parsley, fresh mint, and the lemon zest and juice. Stir vigorously for a final minute to incorporate everything. The final consistency should be creamy and fluid, like a thick porridge.
Serve immediately in warm bowls with extra Parmesan on top.
Pea Risotto
Ingredients
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 shallot finely chopped
- 1 celery stalk finely diced
- 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup dry white wine like Pinot Grigio
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh mint chopped
- Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
Method
- Heat chicken broth in saucepan, keep at bare simmer.
- Melt 1 tbsp butter with oil in large pot over medium heat.
- Cook shallot and celery 5-7 minutes until soft.
- Add rice, stir 2 minutes until edges translucent.
- Add garlic, cook 1 minute.
- Pour in wine, cook until absorbed.
- Add salt and pepper.
- Add hot broth one ladle at a time, stirring constantly until absorbed before adding more.
- Continue process 20-25 minutes until rice is tender with slight bite.
- Add peas, cook 2 minutes.
- Remove from heat, stir in remaining butter, Parmesan, herbs, lemon zest and juice.
- Serve immediately with extra Parmesan.
