Pea Vermouth Grain Risotto Food

ENGLISH PEA AND SWEET ONION RISOTTO

Steps:

• In a medium pot, add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat.
• Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a saucepan over a medium-low heat. Add the onions, garlic and a touch of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the onions are translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the rice and increase the heat to medium-high. Toast the rice, stirring, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the white wine and cook until it has reduced to almost dry and you hear a sizzle. Add the simmering chicken stock 1 cup at a time and cook, continuously stirring, until it has absorbed almost all the way. Repeat this process until the rice is almost cooked; this will range from 15 to 20 minutes, depending on your rice. The rice kernels should still be a little al dente and the risotto should be creamy and a pourable consistency, not dry or clumpy.
• In a small saucepan, add about 1/2 cup simmering chicken stock and 2 tablespoons butter. Add the peas, then season with a little salt and pepper and stir. Place over low heat and cook until the peas are warmed through. Add the chives and tarragon. Transfer half of the peas to a bowl and mash with a muddler or fork. Return the mashed peas back to the pot of peas and keep warm. If the mixture looks dry, add 1/4 cup more of the stock.
• When the risotto is finished, shut the heat off and add the remaining 3 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoon olive oil, half the Parmesan and all the lemon zest. Let it sit for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir and taste for seasoning. Add a little more Parmesan if needed. Add the white balsamic vinegar and lemon juice and stir. Garnish with more Parmesan and the pea mixture. Serve in warm bowls or on warm plates.

PEA RISOTTO

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large pan, add the onion and gently sweat for about 10 mins until really soft. Meanwhile, put 100g peas into a food processor with a ladleful of stock and whizz until completely puréed.
• Stir the rice into the onion, increase heat to medium and sizzle the rice for 1 min. Pour in the wine, then bubble and stir until completely absorbed. Continue cooking like this, adding a ladleful of stock at a time, and stirring continuously until the rice is tender and has a good creamy consistency - this will take 20-30 mins.
• Stir in the puréed peas, remaining peas, Parmesan and some seasoning, then turn off the heat and leave to stand for a few mins. Give the risotto a final stir, spoon into shallow bowls and top with some pea shoots and a drizzle of olive oil, if you like.

PEA & VERMOUTH GRAIN 'RISOTTO'

Steps:

• Bring 1 litre/1¾ pints water and the bouillon powder to the boil in a large saucepan. Add the pouches of wheat grain, tamping them down into the liquid with a wooden spoon. Cover the pan and boil over a medium heat for 18 minutes.
• Meanwhile, melt 50g/2oz of the butter in a medium-sized frying pan over a low-medium heat. Tip in the shallot, garlic and celery, and gently fry for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened a little but haven't coloured. Pour in the vermouth, turn up the heat and bubble until it has almost disappeared. Set the pan aside.
• Remove the pouches of wheat grain with a pair of tongs and leave them to drain. Tip the peas into the stock remaining in the saucepan and simmer them for 2 minutes or until hot. Drain off the stock, reserving it, and leave the peas in the pan.
• Cut open the pouches and tip the wheat grain into the peas, then scrape in the contents of the frying pan. Add the parmesan, parsley and the remaining butter, and season with plenty of black pepper - it's unlikely you'll need more salt. Return the saucepan to a low heat and stir thoroughly until the cheese has melted and the 'risotto' is a loose, creamy mass, adding a spoonful or two of the reserved stock if required. Serve immediately.

RISOTTO WITH PEA SHOOTS

Steps:

• Heat stock in a medium saucepan over medium heat, and keep at a bare simmer. Heat olive oil in a large heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add shallots, and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add rice, and cook, stirring, until rice makes a clicking sound (like glass beads tapping one another), 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add wine; cook, stirring, until absorbed. Add 3/4 cup stock; continue to cook, stirring at a moderate speed, until mixture is thick enough that a clear wake is left behind spoon.
• Continue to add stock, 3/4 cup at a time (letting each addition get absorbed before adding the next), and cook, stirring, until rice is al dente but not crunchy, and liquid looks creamy, 20 to 25 minutes. (There might be stock left over.) Remove risotto from heat.
• Coarsely chop two-thirds of the pea shoots; set aside. Toss remaining pea shoots with truffle oil in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper; set aside. Stir butter, cheese, parsley, and chopped pea shoots into risotto; season with salt and pepper. Divide risotto among plates.
• Top each serving with a mound of dressed pea shoots. Serve with cheese.

PRAWN AND PEA RISOTTO WITH BASIL AND MINT

Steps:

• Cook peas in boiling stock or water. Don't waste pods, you can place them in the stock after the peas are cooked to infuse their fantastic delicate flavor. Use this stock as part of the stock/water for the risotto. At the end of Stage 3 in the basic risotto recipe, add the prawns and peas and simmer for 1 minute as prawns take no time to cook. At Stage 4 of the risotto recipe throw in the fresh herbs and squeeze the lemon juice. Stir and serve immediately. Drizzle with good peppery olive oil.;
• Stage 1. Heat stock. In a separate pan heat the olive oil, add the shallots or onion, garlic and celery and slowly fry for about 3 minutes. When the vegetables have softened, add the rice, season with salt and pepper and turn up the heat. Stage 2. The rice will now begin to fry, so keep stirring it. After a minute it will look slightly translucent having absorbed all the flavors from the vegetables. Add the vermouth or wine and keep stirring -- it will smell fantastic as it sizzles around the rice. Any harsh alcohol flavors will evaporate and leave the rice with a tasty essence. Stage 3. Once the vermouth or wine has cooked into the rice, add your first ladle of hot stock and a good pinch of salt. Turn down the heat to a highish simmer so the rice doesn't cook too quickly on the outside. Keep adding ladles of stock, stirring and allowing each ladle of liquid to be absorbed before adding the next. This will take around 15 minutes. Taste the rice -- is it cooked? Carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite. Don't forget to carefully check the seasoning. Stage 4. Remove from the heat and add the butter and Parmesan, if using. Stir gently. Place lid on pan and allow to sit for 2 to 3 minutes. This is the most important part of making the risotto as this is when it becomes outrageously creamy and oozy like it should be. Eat as soon as possible while the risotto retains its perfect texture.
• Yield: 6 servings

LEMONY PRAWN & PEA RISOTTO

Steps:

• Peel the prawns, keeping the heads and shells. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan and fry the prawn shells and heads with the sliced chilli until they have toasted and changed colour. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer.
• Bring the stock to the boil and keep on a low simmer. In a separate pan, melt half the butter over a medium heat. Stir in the onions and sweat gently for 8-10 mins until soft but not coloured, stirring occasionally. Stir the rice into the onions until completely coated in the butter, then stir continuously until the rice is shiny and the edges of the grain start to look transparent.
• Pour in the wine and simmer until totally evaporated. Add the stock, a ladleful at a time, stirring with each addition until absorbed. Stir through the prawns and peas. Continue adding stock a ladleful at a time and stirring the rice over a low heat for 25-30 mins, until the rice is cooked al dente (with a slightly firm, starchy bite in the middle). The risotto should be creamy and slightly soupy. When you draw a wooden spoon through it, there should be a wake that holds for a few moments but not longer. Cook until the prawns change colour. Stir through the chopped chilli, lemon juice and remaining olive oil. Let the risotto rest for a few mins, then serve, topped with the lemon zest.

EASY RISOTTO WITH BACON & PEAS

Steps:

• Finely chop 1 onion. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil and a knob of butter in a pan, add the onions and fry until lightly browned (about 7 minutes).
• Add 6 chopped rashers streaky bacon and fry for a further 5 minutes, until it starts to crisp.
• Add 300g risotto rice and 1l hot vegetable stock, and bring to the boil. Stir well, then reduce the heat and cook, covered, for 15-20 minutes until the rice is almost tender.
• Stir in 100g frozen peas, add a little salt and pepper and cook for a further 3 minutes, until the peas are cooked.
• Serve sprinkled with freshly grated parmesan and freshly ground black pepper.

BEST EVER ASPARAGUS & PEA RISOTTO

Steps:

• Snap the woody ends off the asparagus stalks and roughly bash with the blade of a knife. Tip the ends into a saucepan along with the reserved pea pods, if using, and parmesan rind, if you have it. Pour over 700ml of the stock, set the pan over a low heat and bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, cut the tips off the asparagus, set aside, and slice the stalks into rounds.
• Bring the rest of the stock to the boil in a small saucepan, tip in the asparagus tips and cook for 1 min. Scoop out into a bowl using a slotted spoon and set aside. Tip the rest of the asparagus and the peas into the pan and simmer for 3-4 mins until just tender. Tip half the cooked veg and the stock from the pan into a blender and blitz until frothy and green. Return to the pan with the whole vegetables and set aside.
• Heat most of the oil in a large, shallow saucepan over a low heat and cook the onions for 8-10 mins until soft but not translucent. Stir in the rice to coat in the onions and oil, turn the heat up slightly and cook for 3 mins. Pour over the wine or vermouth, then stir and simmer until the liquid has evaporated.
• Add a ladleful of stock from the large pan, avoiding the pea pods and asparagus ends, stirring vigorously and only adding more when the first ladle has been absorbed by the rice. Keep adding stock in this way until it is absorbed, the pan is dry and the rice is al dente (about 15 mins), then add the green stock, along with the veg, and cook for 3-4 mins more until the rice is just tender and you can see the bottom of the pan when you draw a spoon through it.
• Remove from the heat and leave to stand for a minute, then beat in the butter, most of the cheese, a squeeze of lemon juice and some seasoning. Stir until the cheese has melted and the risotto is thick. Serve in warmed bowls topped with the asparagus tips, pea shoots (if using), the rest of the cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.