Spring Pea Risotto

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An easy vegetarian dinner, this Spring Pea Risotto is delicious, filling, and full of nutrients. It will be your new favorite Meatless Dinner!

Lemon zest adds a pop of flavor to the spring pea risotto

Full of Spring flavors, this Spring Pea Risotto is a perfect meatless dinner option or a great side dish to compliment any main course. No need to babysit this risotto, you add the broth and let it cook for twenty minutes and you are ready to eat this delicious meal.

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What are the Main Ingredients
How to Make the Risotto
Questions??
Other Recipes to try!
📖 Recipe

What are the Main Ingredients

Arborio- Risotto is an Italian dish that is made with Arborio rice because the rice gives the risotto is creamy, starchy texture. \ When cooked, the rice produces more starch than long grain rice would. This gives the risotto it's classic, creamy texture like in crab risotto.

Spring Peas- I used frozen Spring Peas here, but if you had it, you could use fresh peas. I would lightly blanch the peas by putting them in boiling water for one minute, and then add them to an ice bath to stop the cooking process. You will then cook them more once you add them to the risotto.

Lemon Zest- The zest of the lemon has a more concentrated lemon flavor, so that is why I added the zest instead of the juice. When the juice cooks in a dish like this, it tends to get a little more bitter. By adding the zest at the end once the cooking is done, it stays nice and bright so you get that zesty, lemony punch,

How to Make the Risotto

Traditionally, risotto is made by heating the broth, and adding it into the rice mixture one scoop at a time until the broth is cooked off, and then you would add another scoop. This recipe allows you to add all the broth at once, let it cook for twenty minutes, and then you don't have to sit and babysit it for the entire cooking time. Who has time for that??

In a large pan that has a fitted lid, add the olive oil and butter on medium-low heat. I find using a braising pan is the best option. Allow the butter to melt and then add diced onions and minced garlic. Stay close to the pan here, because the garlic can burn very easily. Cook that for 2-3 minutes until the onions are translucent (meaning they become almost clear).

Once the onions are translucent, add the rice and cook it in the olive oil and onion mixture. This is toasting the rice. Cook that for another two minutes to get the flavor of the onions and garlic into the rice.

Add the wine to the rice and cook until the rice is cooked off. That should only take two minutes. Add the broth and stir to combine everything. Once the broth is stirred in, cover the pan and allow that to cook on medium-low heat for twenty minutes.

Add the onions and garlic and saute until translucent

Once the twenty minutes is up, add the peas and the parmesan cheese. Stir until the parmesan has melted. Top with the lemon zest and serve immediately! Enjoy!

Questions??

Can I use another type of rice?

Arborio rice is the best option for risotto. Long grain and Jasmine rice do not produce the same starch that the Arborio rice produces. Arborio rice is readily available in almost all grocery stores, so it is very easy to find.

Do I have to use peas?

Definitely not! This is the method to making risotto. If you do not want to use peas, I would leave them add. You can substitute asparagus, mushrooms, or zucchini. Really, you can add any vegetable you want once you have the method to making this risotto down.

I'm not worried about it being vegetarian, can I use chicken broth?

Definitely! If you are not worried about this being vegetarian, feel free to use chicken broth! Also, if you don't have wine or don't feel comfortable cooking with wine, simply omit it and add more broth.