Oh so Fresh and Gorgeously Green Pea Risotto
This risotto gets its gorgeous bright green colour and creaminess from freshly made pea puree. It's so full of lovely pea flavour that you should be making it right now. (If you have time, you can read a story about a pea risotto (otherwise just skip straight to the recipe :D).
I once ordered pea risotto at one of Turku's famous restaurants. The weather was very nice: warm and sunny so we went to sit on a terrace. After that everything started going wrong. Because of the nice weather the restaurant was full of customers and there seemed to be some kind of a private party inside the restaurant too. We were quite thirsty from walking around the town, so we ordered first some water. After some considerable waiting time our ever-changing waiter came to take our orders thrice (and it was the same waiter twice!). Every time we asked for some water but no water came. Then we were offered some other customers' foods. But still no water.
Then eventually the risotto arrived: it looked lovely bright green with a lacey parmesan "cookie" on top. I was very eager to try it, but I was still craving for some water. At that point I got really upset, because my mouth was so dry and I really wanted to start eating the risotto (as you know risotto really doesn't wait the eater but the other way). I remember vaguely that I pointed to a jug of water at some distance by the wall and the waiter went to fetch for it. But then she was interrupted by another waiter asking something and boom: she was gone. So still no water! Luckily soon after that another waiter came with the water. I have no idea how many times we asked for that water! After having drunk an oceanful of water I was eager to taste my risotto. I imagined the fresh taste of peas, blended with the creamy risotto but then as I tasted the first bite, the reality hit me and the taste of a very salty risotto filled my mouth. I think I couldn't finish the dish: it was that salty.
I can't but complain about the sad state of risottos in restaurants: very often they are very salty, very greasy or too cheesy. I sometimes forget about that, and then I order a risotto (as I like risottos very much) and get really disappointed. I love my risottos with a fresh taste, without lots of cheese or cream, so that I can taste the rice and the other ingredients. I like to eat risottos often and to me they aren't that sort of unhealthy restaurant food one eats only rarely. Of course risotto has to be creamy, but it can be obtained from the starch present in good risotto rice. One can also enhance the creaminess by using creamy vegetable purees.
Despite the saltiness I really loved the taste of pureed peas and the creaminess in that too salty risotto: it resembled my favorite pumpkin risotto made from pureed pumpkin, but made from pureed peas instead. I couldn't forget about it and decided to perfect it at home (without the extra saltiness): it took about three tries to get the recipe as I wanted: the first time I added whole fresh peas, but they weren't cooked properly and I also didn't have enough of that pea puree. The second time I used only frozen peas and doubled the amount of them. Then the peas tasted enough but something was still missing or just wrong: somehow the freshness was missing and I couldn't really say what was wrong, until I tried another broth: I recommend choosing a very mild broth or make one yourself. Next time I want to try making the broth from pea shells/pods to get that really fresh taste of peas. Using pea sprouts is optional, but it also enhances the fresh taste of peas.
I always use a definite amount of broth and if I need more liquid besides that amount, I add only boiling water. Otherwise the risotto ends up easily too salty. (If you have unsalted broth, you can use it freely.) I recommend using frozen peas as they are usually juicier than the fresh ones sold in Finland.
Gorgeously green risotto with the lovely fresh taste of peas. The creaminess comes from the velvety smooth pea puree instead of using lots of cheese or cream.
Ingredients:
- Pea puree:
- 300 g frozen peas
- a handful of pea sprouts, optional Risotto:
- 1 small onion, diced finely
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 200 ml arborio rice
- 50 ml white wine
- 500 ml mild vegetable broth
- + boiled water, depending on your risotto
- 100 g frozen peas
- a handful of grated parmesan
- (salt if needed)
Instructions:
- Start by making the pea puree: Bring 200 ml of water to a boil, add the frozen peas and wait until the water boils again. Drain the hot water, add cold water on top (to stop the cooking process and to ensure your puree stays bright green) and drain again.
- Add 100 ml cold water and the pea sprouts to the peas and blend them. Add more water if needed, but try to add as little as possible so that the puree will not get too wet.
- Press the puree through a sieve. This step is very laborious but really worth it: your pea puree will be silky smooth as opposed to having the pea skins making it grainy and rough.
- Proceed to making the risotto: Heat up the oil in a pan and saute the onion. Add the rice and saute it until glossy (don't let it burn).
- Add the wine and let it boil away. Start adding the hot broth, a ladleful at a time. Keep stirring the risotto, adding more liquid once the rice has absorbed the liquid. When there's no more broth, start adding hot water. When the rice is almost cooked, add half of the pea puree and the frozen peas. Cook until the consistency is right and add the rest of the puree (if your puree is watery, you might need to cook longer). If you want to use fresh peas, you need to add them earlier so that they cook through.
- Lastly add the parmesan (and salt if needed), stir the risotto one more time, turn off the heat and serve!
Raikkaan vihreä risotto, joka saa kermaisen koostumuksensa pehmeästä hernepyreestä.
Ainekset:
- Hernepyree:
- 300 g pakasteherneitä
- (kourallinen herneenversoja) Risotto:
- 1 pieni sipuli, kuutioituna
- 1 rkl rypsiöljyä
- 2 dl arborio-riisiä
- 0,5 dl valkoviiniä
- 5 dl mietoa kasvislientä
- + kiehautettua vettä tarvittaessa
- 100 g pakasteherneitä
- kourallinen raastettua parmesania
- (suolaa tarvittaessa)
Valmistusohjeet:
- Aloita hernepyreen valmistuksella: Kiehauta 2 dl vettä kattilassa, lisää pakasteherneet. Anna kiehahtaa uudelleen ja keitä kunnes herneet ovat sulaneet. Kaada vesi pois ja lisää päälle kylmää vettä, jotta kypsentyminen pysähtyy (näin herneet pysyvät kauniin vihreinä). Valuta.
- Lisää herneisiin noin 1 dl kylmää vettä ja herneenversot ja soseuta esim. sauvasekoittimella. Lisää tarvittaessa vähän vettä, mutta yritä olla lisäämättä sitä liikaa, ettei pyreestä tule liian vetistä.
- Painele pyree siivilän läpi. Tämä on melko työlästä, mutta vaivanarvoista: herneiden karheat kuoret jäävät siivilään ja pyreestä tulee silkkisen pehmeää.
- Jatka risoton valmistuksella: Lämmitä öljy pannussa ja kuullota sipuli. Lisää riisi ja sekoita, kunnes se muuttuu kiiltäväksi (varo ettei se pala).
- Lisää viini ja anna sen kiehua pois. Lisää kuumaa lientä kauhallinen kerrallaan. Sekoittele risottoa ja lisää uutta lientä aina kun riisi on imenyt nesteen. Kun/jos liemi loppuu kesken, jatka lisäämällä kuumaa vettä. Kun riisi on lähes kypsää (n. 20 min keittoajan jälkeen), lisää puolet hernepyreestä ja kokonaiset herneet. Keitä, kunnes koostumus on risottomaisen pehmeä ja lisää loput pyreestä. Keitä tarvittaessa vielä hetki (etenkin jos pyree on vetisempää). Jos käytät tuoreita herneitä, lisää ne jo aiemmin, jotta ne kypsyvät.
- Viimeiseksi lisää parmesan (ja suolaa tarvittaessa) ja sekoita risottoa viimeisen kerran. Tarjoa heti.
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