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This pea Parmesan risotto is minimal stir and turns out perfectly creamy. It’s packed full of fresh lemon zest, sweet spring peas, and sharp Parmesan cheese.
Risotto has always been my cooking my nemesis.
I would order it anytime I was out at a restaurant but the thought of making it at home made my squirm.
I have always blamed on my issues with rice.
When I was young (and too impatient to cook!) I would turn the heat on high, pour my rice in, and in no time the water was gone, the rice was hard and I was annoyed.
So I naturally carried these rice insecurities with me to my adult life.
Never once did I think to myself “oh, maybe I wasn’t really following directions and I should give that try!”
Nope.
Instead, I thought, “I simply can’t cook rice. I can cook just about anything in the world but rice.”
I think I should have tipped myself off that was something was wrong when I could make puff pastry but I couldn’t cook rice.
Luckily I finally threw my rice making insecurities to the wind and gave the risotto a try.
I have always loved how something as simple as rice can be turned into the creamiest of dishes by just a few simple ingredients.
For this dish, I added lots of lemon zest to bring in a nice punch of fresh springtime flavor.
I also used frozen petite sweet peas because they have the best flavor in my opinion.
You can definitely use fresh sweet peas but make sure they haven’t been out of their shell for too long. The longer they are out of their shell the more starchy they become.
That’s why I usually pick frozen since they are shelled and frozen almost immediately.
The pea Parmesan risotto dish is pretty low maintenance but you do have to stir it just a little bit.
After it cooks you simply stir to make it creamy and add in your sweet peas, Parmesan, and lemon zest.
You can really go as heavy or as light as you like with the lemon zest but I personally love it a bit on the heavy side. It really adds a nice lightness to the dish that screams spring.
Obviously, this dish makes a pretty stellar side dish BUT if you throw in some grilled chicken you just made yourself a fantastic one-pot meal!
The rice will set up a bit as it sits so you can thin it out with a little more warmed chicken stock.
Love this pea Parmesan risotto?
Pea Parmesan Risotto
Ingredients
- 7-1/2 cups chicken stock
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2-1/2 cups arborio rice
- 1-1/4 cup dry white wine
- 2 cups frozen petite peas
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, more if desired
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Cracked pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Add chicken stock to a pot and bring to a simmer.
- Place your sauté pan over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons butter.
- Once the butter is melted add in the onion and sauté until the onion is soft but not browned.
- Add in the rice and toast the rice for just a few minutes until it becomes slightly translucent around the edges.
- Pour in the white wine and cook until the wine has cooked off.
- Add in 6-1/2 cups warmed chicken stock, stir, turn down the heat to low, and cover.
- Let the rice simmer for about 20 minutes, making sure to stir the rice a few times during the cooking process.
- Keep an eye on the heat so you don’t go above a simmer. No boiling.
- After it has cooked for 20 minutes add in 3/4 cup warmed stock and stir for about 5 minutes or until the risotto is super creamy.
- Stir in peas, grated Parmesan cheese, lemon zest, fresh thyme leaves, and lemon juice.
- Taste and season with the desired amount of kosher salt and black pepper.
- If the risotto seems a bit thick feel free to loosen up with the remaining warmed stock.
Wow! Congratulations on this partnership!! I can’t wait to see what recipes you come up with — the pea Parmesan risotto is the perfect start to your series! It looks perfectly creamy – pinning!!
Can you believe I’ve never made risotto before? Crazy right? This looks delicious!! Loving all the flavors going on. Gotta make this asap!