Vegetable and Herb Risotto
Who doesn't enjoy a beautifully light but still satisfying dish on a nice summer evening? This risotto gets its wonderful flavours from fresh seasonal vegetables and herbs, the brown butter with its nutty flavour adds some depth and luxury to the dish. It is best enjoyed with a glass of light white wine or lemon infused sparkling water.
Ingredients (for 2-3 people):
- 250g risotto rice
- 1 medium sized zucchini
- 1 cup fresh or frozen peas
- 1-2 shallots, diced
- 1 garlic clove, finely diced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp butter
- dash of dry white wine (optional)
- 900 ml vegetable stock
- handfull of fresh herbs (chives, mint, sage)
- zest of 1/2 lemon
- 50g of grated Parmesan cheese
- salt/pepper to taste
Method:
- Heat the oil and 1 tsp of the butter in a skillet and add the shallot and garlic, fry at low to medium heat until soft but not burned, this will take a few minutes.
- Increase the heat a little bit, then add the rice and stir until the rice is slightly transluscent, then add the wine and keep stirring until the alcohol has evaporated and the liquid is cooked into the rice.
- Turn the heat down again and pour in a ladle of the vegetable stock. Keep stirring until until the liquid is absorbed. Keep adding ladlefuls of stock, stir and allow the liquid to be aborbed before adding the next one. Carry on until the rice is almost cooked then add the vegetables.
- Keep adding stock, stir until absorbed until the rice is fully cooked.
- Finely chop the herbs and add them and the lemon zest to the rice and veggies, season to taste.
- Turn of the heat, place a lid on the pan and let the rice rest and absorb the flavours of the herbs. This will also allow the roce to become wonderfully creamy.
- In the meantime, heat the remaining butter in a small pan until brown, be careful not to burn it.
- Finally, add the Parmesan cheese to the rice, stir once more and pour the brown butter over the rice, this will add some beautiful nutty flavor. Enjoy!
Preparation time: about 45mins