Pea risotto "Mantecare"

A recipe from cooking-ez.com

For 4 people, you will need:

• 1 300 g peas
• 2 1 onion
• 3 2 cloves garlic
• 4 herbs of your choice
• 5 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 350 g rice
• 7 1 glass dry white wine
• 8 1 litre Vegetable stock
• 9 2 tablespoons Mascarpone
• 10 100 g Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano)
• 11 salt
• 12 pepper
• Total weight: 2,115 grams

Times:

Preparation	Resting	Cooking	Start to finish
1 hour 15 min.	5 min.	10 min.	1 hour 30 min.

Step by step recipe

1	Shell the peas if they are fresh. You should have around 300g of shelled peas.
2	Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Tip in the peas and cook them, but only until they are 'al dente'.
3	Cool them quickly and leave to drain.
4	Prepare 1 onion and chop finely. Peel 2 cloves garlic and chop finely.
5	Pour 6 tablespoons olive oil into a large pan on medium heat. When hot, add the onion, garlic and herbs, salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. The onion should just colour a little.
6	Tip in 350 g rice and stir constantly for 4 or 5 minutes. The rice should be well coated with oil and slightly 'pearled'.
7	Pour in 1 glass dry white wine...
8	... and stir until completely absorbed by the rice. Remove the herbs and discard.
9	Add a little vegetable stock...
10	...and stir until completely absorbed by the rice.
11	Repeat this operation, a little at a time, intil all the stock has been used up.
12	Stop when the rice is cooked to your taste and still a little moist. A risotto should never be completely dry. This whole process is supposed to take 18 minutes, but this will depend on a lot of things (type of rice, intensity of cooking, etc.), and it is best to expect it to take nearer 30 minutes.
13	Once the rice is cooked, it is time for the mantecare: tip 2 tablespoons Mascarpone and the grated 100 g Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano) into the pan. Take off the heat, cover and leave to rest for 4 minutes.
14	After this time, uncover and mix thoroughly to ensure that the mascarpone and Parmesan are well mixed in.
15	To finish, add the peas, mix once more, cover and leave to rest for a further 2 or 3 minutes until the peas have heated through.
16	Your risotto is ready.
17	An Italian wine, of course: a dry, fruity white such as a Pinot Grigio.

Remarks

For an authentic Italian touch, try to find `carnaroli' rice if you can.
You can replace the vegetable stock with chicken stock if you prefer (a simple stock cube dissolved in hot water).

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