Super green risotto

Method

1. Heat the stock. Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic, trim and finely chop the celery. Finely grate the Parmesan.

2. Add peas, spinach and basil to a nutribullet and add a cup of your stock and blend (any food processor or hand blender will do). Put to one side.

3. In a separate pan, heat the oil and 1 small knob of butter over a low heat, add the onions, garlic and celery, and fry gently for about 15 minutes, or until softened but not coloured.

4. Add the rice and turn up the heat – the rice will now begin to lightly fry, so keep stirring it. After 1 minute it will look slightly translucent. Add the wine and keep stirring — it will smell fantastic. Any harsh alcohol flavours will evaporate and leave the rice with a tasty essence.

5. Once the wine has cooked into the rice, add your first ladle of hot stock and a good pinch of sea salt. Turn the heat down to a simmer so the rice doesn’t cook too quickly on the outside.

6. Keep adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring and almost massaging the creamy starch out of the rice, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next. Add your greens mixture with the last few ladles (adding it last will make sure your rice stays a vibrant crisp green!). This will take around 15 minutes. Taste the rice — is it cooked? Carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite . Don’t forget to check the seasoning carefully. If you run out of stock before the rice is cooked, add some boiling water.

7. Remove the pan from the heat, add 1 knob of butter and the Parmesan, then stir well.

8. Place a lid on the pan and allow to sit for 2 minutes – this is the most important part of making the perfect risotto, as this is when it becomes outrageously creamy and oozy like it should be. Eat it as soon as possible, while the risotto retains its beautiful texture.

9. I serve mine with a handful of watercress and a crumble of feta cheese. 

ENJOY xxx