This recipe just goes to show how simple risotto can be, it’s really nothing to be scared of! This can be so easily adapted so you can add pretty much any protein or veg that you like. Very satisfying to make- especially when sipping on a glass of wine- and can be very healthy (when not covered in butter and cheese)!

SERVES 4- COOKING TIME: 30 MINUTES

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• 1 white onion, finely diced
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
• 500g arborio rice
• 250 ml white wine
• 1 litre vegetable or chicken stock
• 200g asparagus tips, reserve about 8 for grilling and roughly chop up the rest into chunks
• 200g frozen peas
• Parmesan rind (optional)
• 75g of finely grated Parmesan, or any vegetarian/vegan alternative you prefer (half for the risotto and the rest to sprinkle when serving)
• a spoonful of butter
• salt and pepper
• parsley, roughly chopped (optional)
• squeeze of lemon juice
• lemon zest (optional but highly recommended!!!)

Method:

1. In a large saucepan, over a low-medium, add a glug of olive oil and once hot, tip in the diced white onion. Gently cook until soft and translucent. Then add in the garlic and continue to cook for a further few minutes.
2. Once both are cooked, chuck in the rice and give everything a good stir so that each grain is coated in the oil. Now splash in the wine and stir so that it bubbles away. At this point, if you’re using Parmesan rind, add this too.
3. The next 20-ish minutes should be pretty straight forward. You want to add in the stock bit by bit, stirring the risotto so that nothing sticks and all the rice is able to cook through evenly. I find it easiest to add this in a ladleful at a time. It might seem a bit time consuming, but there’s nothing worse than having a spoonful of risotto with uncooked grains.
4. Remember to taste every so often so you know exactly how much longer you’ll need to cook the rice for. But when your about 2 ladles away from finishing the stock, chuck in the asparagus and peas. I like my asparagus still a little crunchy to keep and element of freshness. With the remaining asparagus tips, pop these under the grill with a little salt for 4 minutes, turning over half way through.
5. Once all the stock is added, stir in the butter, half the Parmesan and season to taste. Then squeeze in the lemon juice, as much or as little as you like!
6. And voila! I like to sprinkle over some fresh parsley, a little more cheese (because can you ever actually have too much?) and lemon zest, which is delicious and fresh and zingy. Just chuck a few grilled tips on top too!