Spring vegetable risotto

I haven’t done a risotto for a while so this is a lovely Spring dish which I cooked in the LeCreuset Shallow Casserole without the lid.  I sautéed in it and then it fitted straight into my steam oven!  No other pan to wash up as it’s also a beautiful serving dish.  You can use the lid on serving to keep it warm (and it also looks great).

Just like asparagus means Spring to me, so does basil.  I have drizzled some fresh pesto over the top of the risotto and a few extra basil leaves to give it another level of flavour.  It works, the combination of the creamy rice, fresh vegetables and the hit of the pesto is delicious.

You can make some fresh pesto from the recipe here.  I had a little I reserved from the Buckwheat salad to use for this recipe but remember if you want to store pesto it must be stored in a jar with a layer of oil over the top.  You can also press a circle of baking paper or glad wrap directly onto the surface of the pesto which will help prevent discolouration.

Ingredients:  Serves 4-6

1 cup Arborio rice
2 cups chicken stock
1½ tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
100g Swiss brown mushrooms, sliced
1 bunch asparagus, cut into lengths
1 cup sugar snap peas
½ cup frozen peas
¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
½ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
1 tbsp. fresh pesto mixed with 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
few fresh basil leaves

Method:

1. Heat the olive oil in the LeCreuset shallow casserole, sauté onion & garlic on a low heat until soft
2. Add mushrooms and sauté on a medium heat until it starts to colour.
3. Stir through rice for 1 minute, add stock and cook @ 100°C for 15 minutes without the lid on the pan (see note below)
4. Open steam oven and add all other ingredients except the parmesan, pesto and basil and cook a further 2 minutes
5. Stir in parmesan and top with the pesto and basil leaves.

A one-pot Spring dish!

Recipe adapted from Miele

Taste your risotto after it’s been in for 15 minutes as cooking in a cast iron pan may alter your timing compared to other recipes that are cooked in the solid stainless steel tray.  It may need another 3-5 minutes before the vegetables are added depending on your taste.  I didn’t have any different cooking time but I think that was because the pan was hot off the stove.