BAKED RISOTTO PRIMAVERA

Recipe by Jo Pratt

The beauty about this one-pot supper is that it’s baked in the oven rather than having to laboriously stand over the pan stirring for 30 mins. It’s ideal for all the family and any leftovers can be made into Arancini (see below) for lunch the following day.

If you’re struggling to get fresh veggies this is an ideal recipe to turn to for dinner, as it’s made using frozen peas and broad beans, two fantastic freezer staples.Other fresh veggies can also be used such as green beans or asparagus, which will also need cooking before you add to the risotto.

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Makes: serves 4-6

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

 

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• knob of butter

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 4 cloves garlic, crushed

• 1 large or 2 small courgettes, diced

• 400g risotto rice

• 1.2 litres chicken or vegetable stock

• grated zest of 1 small lemon

• 200g frozen peas, defrosted

• 200g frozen broad beans or soya/edamame beans, defrosted

• 2 tbsp chopped chives, mint, basil or parsley (or a mixture)

• 60g grated parmesan cheese

• 2-3 tbsp mascarpone or cream cheese

• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Method 

  1. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
  2. Heat the olive oil and butter in a 3 litre casserole dish and gently fry the onion for around 5 minutes until softened. Add the courgette and rice, and stir around until coated in the oil. Stir in the stock, bring to a gentle simmer and cover with a lid. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
  3. By now the rice will be almost tender and most of the liquid absorbed. Stir in the peas and broad beans. Return to the oven for 10 minutes.
  4. Finally when the risotto is ready, stir in the chopped herbs, lemon zest and mascarpone or cream cheese. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

 

LEFTOVERS

MOZARELLA AND PRIMAVERA ARANCINI CAKES

Mix some diced mozzarella cheese and some finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes if you have them into the leftover risotto. Firmly shape into cakes round cakes/balls. Dip into some beaten egg and then into fresh or dried breadcrumbs. Heat enough olive oil in a frying pan to cover the base of the pan and fry for 5-7 minutes turning frequently until golden and heated through. Drain on kitchen paper and serve.

 

Thank you to the Cookbook Festival Team and Jo Pratt for providing this recipe.

Check out the Cookbook Festival website here.