Spring Risotto Recipe

23rd April marks the start of the English Asparagus season and did you know Asparagus is rich in minerals and vitamins A, C and folic acid? It's a fibrous vegetable that may support a healthy gut, as well as help lower blood pressure.

Here's a Spring Risotto recipe packed with broad beans, peas and asparagus!

What you'll need:

• Small bunch of mint leaves
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 6 Spring onions, whites finely sliced into rounds, green ends julienned
• 1 litre of chicken or vegetable stock
• 350g Asparagus, woody ends snapped off
• 200g frozen peas
• 25g Butter
• 1tbsp olive oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 350g Risotto rice
• 125ml dry white wine
• Zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 100g broad beans, blanched and peeled
• 30g parmesan, grated (plus extra to serve)
• 1tbsp truffle oil (optional)
• 4-6 egg yolks
• 2 chicken breasts, sliced. (optional for added protein)

Method:

1. First make the mint oil by blitzing together the mint, oil and lemon juice in a blender.
2. Fill a bowl with ice and top up with water, then plunge in the green spring onion ends – they should curl up while you make the risotto. In a pan, bring the stock to just below the boil over a medium heat and poach the asparagus spears for 2 mins, then remove with tongs. Chop the stalks into 1.5-2cm wide discs and leave the tips intact. Put the frozen peas into a bowl and pour over a ladle of warm stock to defrost them.
3. Put a large casserole or deep frying pan over a low heat. Melt the butter into the oil and fry the spring onion whites and bay leaf for 3 mins until soft and fragrant. Turn up the heat to medium-high, add in the rice and coat in the fat, cooking for a few minutes until the rice has absorbed some of the fat and is glossy and slightly translucent at the edges. Pour over the wine and cook, stirring, until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the lemon zest and then a ladleful of the warm stock, and stir, cooking until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Continue to cook the risotto over a low medium heat for 20-25 mins, stirring and adding the stock a ladleful at a time, allowing it to be absorbed completely before you add the next one, and keeping the rice moving to cook it evenly and help it release its starch.
4. Once the rice is puffed and tender all the way through, with no chalky core (you may not need to use up all the stock), pour over the peas and their stock, and stir them into the risotto. Add the asparagus stalks, tips and broad beans, cooking for a few minutes to heat through. Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaf and stir in the knob of butter, along with the parmesan, adding some truffle oil, if you like, or some chicken for added protein. Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly, then spoon into warm bowls and use the back of a spoon to create a shallow well in the rice.
5. Carefully put the egg yolks in the wells and then top with some of the green spring onion. Spoon over a little of the mint oil and stir everything together to enrich with the egg yolk and crunchy spring onion.
6. Enjoy!