Herbed Pea & Pancetta Risotto
Posted in General on 07/28/2010 09:16 pm by OriFor those out there who enjoy nice food and aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and start chopping, seasoning and stirring, here is a really tasty recipe I found on a magazine a few weeks ago and have already made twice. It’s soo good I thought it was worth sharing. If you give it a try make sure to let me know how it goes!
Herbed Pea and Pancetta Risotto
Prep time 35 mins, cook 45 mins. Serves 4.
Ingredients:
- 750 ml (3 cups) chicken stock
- 30 ml olive oil
- 60 gm butter, coarsely chopped
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 250 gm vialone nano rice
- 50 gm diced pancetta
- 100 ml dry white wine
- half bunch each spinach and rocket, trimmed
- 1 cup each (firmly packed) mint and flat-leaf parsley
- 200 gm frozen peas, defrosted
- 40 gm finely grated parmesan
Method:
- Bring stock to the simmer over medium-high heat, reduce heat to low, keep warm.
- Heat oil and half the butter in a casserole over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and stir occasionally until very tender (8-10 mins). Add pancetta and rice, stir to coat, and cook until rice is just toasted (1 min). Add wine and stir occasionally until almost evaporated (2-3 mins). Add stock to risotto a ladleful at a time, stirring continuously until stock is absorbed before adding more. Cook until rice is al dente (20-25 mins), remove from heat, stand 1 minute.
- Meanwhile, blanch spinach, rocket and herbs in a saucepan of boiling water until just wilted (1-2 mins), then drain, refresh (i.e. plunge in plenty of iced water to stop the cooking process) and squeeze out excess water. Process in a food processor until finely chopped, add peas and pulse unitl coarsely chopped. Stir into risotto with parmesan and remaining butter, season to taste and serve hot.
Yumm… buon appetito! :)
