Louella Berryman

It may be raining heavily outside right now, but hopefully this summer risotto recipe will bring some sunshine into your kitchen. A perfect mixture of comforting cheesiness and fresh green veg and lemon, a summer risotto is perfect for this time of year when the weather can be a bit dodgy, and you’d like a reminder of sunny mediterranean holidays. This recipe is also pretty flexible, if you don’t have peas or green beans you could use any other green, fresh or frozen veg!

Ingredients

6-8 spring onions

2 sticks of celery

1 tablespoon olive oil

a knob of butter

150g frozen peas

100g frozen green beans

125ml dry white wine

salt and pepper

30g parmesan cheese (plus extra for serving)

300g arborio rice

1l vegetable stock (I like vegetable bouillon)

a small bunch of fresh mint

a small bunch of fresh parsley

zest of 1/2 a lemon

Method

Heat the butter and olive oil on a medium heat in a large saucepan. While the butter is melting, finely chop the spring onions and celery. Once the oil and butter are hot, add the onions and celery to the pan.

Sweat the onions and celery gently for about 10 minutes. Don’t rush this step! It’s important not to let them brown. After 10 minutes of sweating, add the rice. Stir until the rice is coated with the oily-buttery mix. Then add the wine, and stir, waiting for the rice to absorb the wine completely.

Once the wine has been absorbed, start to add the vegetable stock. Add the stock a ladle-ful at a time, waiting for each ladle to be absorbed before adding the next. Its important to be patient with the stock, it really helps give the risotto a nice creamy texture.

When you add the last one or two tablespoons of stock, add the peas, green beans and lemon zest. Give the risotto a stir to combine, then add the parmesan cheese and season to taste. Let the risotto rest for a few minutes. This again, is important for a silky texture. Serve the risotto and top with more parmesan.