This Spring Vegetable Risotto with Creamy Pesto is creamy, cheesy and totally moreish! A vegetarian recipe that meat eaters will devour too!
Prep Time: 10 mins | Cook Time: 20 mins | Total Time: 30 mins
Ingredients
The Risotto:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion peeled and chopped finely
- 1 clove garlic peeled and crushed
- 150 g arborio rice
- 80 ml white wine (optional, replace with stock if you’d prefer)
- 600 ml hot vegetable stock (use bouillon for gluten free)
- 12 stalks of asparagus trimmed
- 75 g mangetout
- 30 g parmesan (use Italian-style vegetarian hard cheese for a vegetarian version), grated
- Juice of ½ a lemon
- Good pinch of salt and black pepper
- Large handful of fresh baby leaves
To Serve:
- 8 cherry/grape tomatoes sliced in half
- 2 radishes sliced thinly
- 2 heaped tbsp crème fraiche
- 2 heaped tsp vegetarian pesto
- 5 sprigs parsley roughly torn
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes until the onion starts to go translucent. Add in the garlic, stir and cook for a further minute.
- Add in the rice and stir until the oil has coated the rice. Add in the wine and stir. Wait for the wine to almost fully absorb (stirring regularly) and then add the stock a ladle at a time – ensuring each ladle has almost fully absorbed before adding the next. Ensure you stir regularly.
- After about 15 minutes you should have 1 or 2 ladles of stock left. At this point, add in the asparagus and mangetout. Stir and continue to cook for 5-6 minutes, adding the rest of the stock a ladle at a time.
- Add in all but one tbsp of the parmesan, the lemon juice and salt & pepper. Give everything a good stir then turn off the heat. Stir through the mixed baby leaves, then divide the risotto between 2 or 3 plates. Top with tomatoes and radishes then spoon on the crème fraiche, followed by the pesto. Sprinkle on the remaining parmesan, along with the fresh parsley and some ground black pepper. Serve immediately.
Nutritional Information
