spring greens risotto
This risotto is a celebration of spring and the new greens sprouting from the earth as the days get longer and warmer. This dish is full of garlicky, umami, earthy flavor, balanced by sweetness of the green peas and the brightness from the lemon. While I use certain spring vegetables, namely asparagus, peas, ramps, and broccoli rabe, feel free to use whatever spring vegetables or greens you have access to and sound good to you. Radishes, nettles, carrots, chard, kale, spinach…the list goes on! Just make sure that the amounts of vegetables/greens are similar to those in this recipe to ensure it’s properly balanced. This dish utilizes my dandelion greens pesto which provides so much flavor and spring-y-ness!
As with all risottos, this dish is a bit of a labor of love, but very well worth it. This is a special dish to share with loved ones and honor spring’s offerings. I hope you enjoy!
spring greens risotto
ingredients
olive oil
1 bunch of broccoli rabe
1 bunch of asparagus chopped into bite-sized pieces
4-5 cups of vegetable stock
1 onion finely diced
3-4 garlic cloves finely minced
2 cups carnaroli rice (arborio works here too)
1/2 cup dry white wine
salt
1 cup fresh or frozen green peas (thawed if frozen)
1 bunch of green onions, field garlic, spring onions thinly sliced
lemon zest from half of a lemon
lemon juice from half of a lemon
1 tbsp nutritional yeast (and more to taste) or parmigiano reggiano
3-4 tbsp dandelion greens pesto
freshly ground black pepper
instructions
roasted broccoli rabe
Preheat your oven to 415 degrees F. Prepare your broccoli rabe. If the rabe is long, cut in half. Make sure to leave the leaves – they get so crispy and delicious.
Mix rabe with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Put the rabe on a baking sheet and roast for roughly 17 minutes or until they are fork tender and starting to darken around the edges.
risotto
Heat a large, wide pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Then add the chopped asparagus. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until the asparagus turns bright green and is fork tender but still has a bit of crunch. Be careful not to overcook the asparagus here, when it goes back into the risotto it will have the opportunity to cook more.
Remove asparagus from the pan and set aside for later.
In a saucepan, add vegetable broth and keep on low heat, covered.
Reheat the pan to medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once hot, add onion and cook until translucent. Then add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes or until very fragrant.
Add the carnaroli rice and cook for 3-4 minutes, making sure each grain is coated in oil and starts to get toasty.
Turn the heat to medium. Add the white wine and cook until it has nearly cooked off.
Uncover the vegetable broth. Then, add one ladle-full of vegetable broth to the rice and stir constantly until it is nearly completely absorbed. Repeat this process until the rice is fully cooked and has a thick consistency. I like to taste the rice as I go to make sure it’s not overcooked. The grains should still have a little bite to them, otherwise it might turn into more of a mushy consistency.
Turn heat as low as it will go. Add 1.5 to 2 teaspoons of salt, the cooked asparagus, peas, green onions or spring onions, lemon zest, nutritional yeast or parmigiano reggiano, black pepper, and pesto. Stir until everything is combined and fully distributed and heated.
Turn heat off. Add lemon juice and stir until incorporated. Taste! Add more salt, nutritional yeast, parm, pepper, lemon, or whatever else you think it needs until it tastes just right.
Distribute the risotto to plates or bowls and top with the broccoli rabe. Feel free to top with parm, nutritional yeast, or pepper.
Serve and enjoy. Happy spring!
