Rachel’s Oven Baked Risotto
with Summer Vegetables
The children of yesterday who spelled their name in alphabet pasta are undoubtedly the culinary geniuses of today. As we grow up we have to pretend that alphabet pasta isn’t as fun as it used to be, but that doesn’t mean we can’t find other ways to get inventive. For this sublime recipe, Rachel Allen whizzes together bouncing fresh peas and spinach to create a risotto that resembles the rolling hills of her beautiful Emerald Isle. There’s no doubt she won the Pasta Spelling Bee at School.
The quantities provided above are averages only.
Boxes and ingredients are packed in facilities that handles Peanut, Nuts, Sesame, Fish, Crustaceans, Milk, Egg, Mustard, Celery, Soya, Gluten and Sulphites. Due to the war in Ukraine, it has been necessary to substitute sunflower oil with rapeseed oil in some products without a label change. The FSA have advised that allergic reactions to rapeseed oil are rare.
Ingredients
1
Onion
2
Garlic Clove
1
Fresh Peas
2
Baby Spinach
1
Vegetable Stock Pot
(Contains Celery, Sulphites)
1
Risotto Rice
2
Grated Hard Italian Style Cheese
(Contains Milk, Egg)
6
Asparagus
Nutritional information
Utensils
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and boil a small pot of water. Peel and finely dice the onion and the garlic. Heat 1 tsp of olive oil in a saucepan (an oven-proof one if you have it). Add the peas and spinach and stir continually for 2 mins, until the spinach wilts.
Dissolve the stock pot in 360ml of your boiling water. Add 2 tbsp of the stock to your pea and spinach mixture. Whizz the peas and spinach in a blender or food processor until smooth. Tip: If you don’t have a blender don’t worry - you can add the veggies whole for texture!
In the same saucepan, heat 2 tsp of olive oil on low heat. Once hot add the onion and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and sweat over a gentle heat until soft but not coloured. Tip: This should take around 5 mins depending on how hot the hob is.
Add the risotto rice and stir it around in the saucepan for a minute. Tip: This helps with flavour and stops the rice cooking too quickly. Add the remaining stock and a few tbsp of white wine if you have any going spare. Stir and bring it up to a boil for 1 minute.
Cover with the lid and place in the preheated oven for about 10-15 mins. If you don’t have an ovenproof saucepan, transfer the rice to an ovenproof dish. Bake until the rice is just cooked and all the liquid has been absorbed. Vigorously stir in the vegetable purée, 2 tsp of butter (if you have some) and ⅔ of the cheese and set aside.
Bring a saucepan of water up to the boil. Trim the tough end from the asparagus then slice in half lengthways. Add a good pinch of salt and the asparagus. Boil for 2 mins or until it is just tender then drain.
Serve the risotto into warm bowls with the asparagus arranged on top. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
