It’s no lie that hosting a meal for friends and family can be stressful. Whether it’s for two people, or 10 it can have it’s challenges. Our job at The Host’s Pantry is to eliminate as much of the worry as possible and ensure that you pull off a showstopping meal – no matter which of our delicious dishes you serve. So why not impress your guests and celebrate spring with our beautiful spring vegetable risotto.
Our ethos is ‘preparation is everything’ when it comes to hosting a home cooked meal. With all our dishes we map out all of the elements you can prepare ahead of time so that when it comes to serving (undoubtedly the most stressful part) everything runs smoothly and more importantly you’re not stuck in the kitchen away from your guests all night.
Create the Ultimate Vegetable Risotto Recipe
One of our favourite dishes for hosting – especially when it’s short notice – is risotto. Perfect because you can prepare 90% of it before people arrive and when everyone is ready to eat, it only takes 10 minutes to pull together. And I don’t know about you but risotto always feels like a bit of a luxury and because you always end up making a little too much – no one goes hungry and you usually have enough for leftovers for a mid-week dinner or lunch!
So, with that in mind I wanted to share with you my go-to risotto. Embracing the season, our vegetable risotto is the perfect dish for spring, and will certainly be on your guests list of favourites. If you’ve been with us for a while, you’ll know at this time of year we have asparagus coming out of our ears and so this recipe of course features asparagus and to be honest, should probably just be called asparagus risotto!
Light, fresh and luxurious this spring vegetable risotto recipe is perfect for last minute hosting, or a weekend treat that the whole family can enjoy.
Serve it individually and top with a little pea shoot for extra flare or serve directly from the saucepan in the middle of the table, whichever way you choose to do it – it’ll be delicious, promise.
Spring Vegetable Risotto For Four People
Preparation time 40 minutes, serving time 10 minutes
Ingredients:
- 12 Asparagus Spears
- 70g Pea shoots (20g for serving)
- 1L Vegetable stock
- 2 Large shallot
- 2 Garlic cloves
- 20g Butter (10g for serving)
- 320g Carnaroli rice
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 60g Parmesan (for serving)
- 200ml White wine (optional)
- Salt and pepper
Equipment:
- Heavy bottomed saucepan
- Saucepan
- Sharp knife
- Chopping board
- Wooden spoon
- Ladle
- Peeler
Method:
(Steps 1-6 can be done well in advance of hosting – the day before if you’d prefer.)
- First wash the asparagus and trim the hard bottoms, then cut into half centimetre pieces but keep the tips uncut. Set these aside ready for cooking.
- Wash the pea shoots and separate 10g for the garnish and set aside. Loosely chop the remainder and add to the asparagus.
- Finely chop the shallot and garlic and gently fry in a medium (heavy bottomed) saucepan with a tablespoon of olive oil on a medium heat. Sweat them until the onions are almost translucent and then add the asparagus and pea shoots and cook for one more minute,
- Add the rice and cook for one-minute stirring frequently to seal the rice. Next add in the white wine if you are using it or 100ml stock if you are not.
- Allow the wine/stock to be absorbed by the rice. Once it has nearly all been absorbed add another ladle of stock and stir well. Repeat this process until you have used 80% of the stock which should take approximately 20 minutes.
- Once the rice is cooked through but still al dente, remove from the heat, checking for seasoning. Allow to cool and place in the fridge until serving. To save on washing up we refrigerate the risotto in the saucepan.
- 10 minutes before desired serving time put the saucepan of risotto over a medium heat and warm through and once warm add in the remaining ladle of stock and stir, allowing to warm and reduce slightly.
- Whilst the risotto is warming, shave the parmesan using a peeler.
- Once the risotto is at the desired temperature remove from the heat and add in the butter and stir through.
- Now ladle the risotto into two bowls and garnish with the shaved parmesan and remaining pea shoots.
I’d love to know if you end up giving it a go, let me know below!
Jess x