Recipe: Summer Vegetable Risotto

The seasonal star of our new lunch menu is undoubtedly our Summer Vegetable Risotto. Packed with tasty asparagus and sweet peas, with hints of mint and lemon, it’s practically summer on a plate. I’ve also added a dollop of marscapone to ours, to make it super creamy and delicious, and it’s topped with shavings of vegetarian Parmesan.

Making risotto at home is a great shout for feeding a crowd, plus once you’ve nailed the base, it’s really easy to adapt the recipe to use seasonal veggies all year round. Just prep your veg and herbs and stir through once the risotto is cooked through.

Why not give one of our seasonal suggestions a whirl, or if you’ve got a winning risotto combo, tweet us >
Summer – Pea, mint, asparagus and lemon
Autumn – Butternut squash, sage and crispy bacon bits
Winter – Roasted beetroot, thyme and crumbled feta
Spring – Wild garlic and seared scallops

Ingredients
Arborio rice – 400g
Asparagus – 250g blanched and chopped
Butter – 50g
Celery – 2 sticks finely diced
Extra virgin olive oil – 50ml
Garlic – 4 cloves
Zest of one lemon
Mascarpone cheese – 90g
Fresh mint – one sprig finely chopped
Parmesan (we use a veggie version) – 20g
Flat leaf parsley – two sprigs finely chopped
Peas – 200g
Spring onions – 60g
White onions – 250g finely diced
Vegetable stock
Salt and pepper

Method

1. Gently melt the butter and olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan, and add the finely diced white onion. Cook on a low heat until they’re softened and translucent (about 8 mins)

1. Add the minced garlic and diced celery, and cook for a further minute or so

1. Add the arborio rice and cook for a few minutes until the rice is all coated with the oil, and the edges of the rice are slightly translucent

1. Slowly add vegetable stock, one ladle at a time. Allow each ladle of liquid to be absorbed before adding the next, and stir in between. This should take about 30 minutes

1. Continue to heat the rice gently, until it’s just cooked through, then remove from the heat

1. Whilst the mixture is still warm, add in the parmesan and mascarpone

1. Next add the chopped herbs, lemon zest, peas, asparagus and spring onions (the residual heat will cook the peas!)

1. Taste and season with salt and pepper