I’ve made a fair few risottos over the years but this quite possibly the nicest risotto I’ve ever made! I’ve tried to get as close to authentically Italian as I can, but since I’m using Spanish Chorizo I’ve already used some creative licence. But either way, this risotto is rich and creamy which is complemented by the wonderful flavour of the salty chorizo and the bursts of sweetness from the peas. It really is a luxurious dish, but it requires a fair degree of patience to make since, like all good risottos, it requires you to give it your undivided attention and lots of stirring. Pour yourself a nice cold drink, put on your favourite music and prepare to put your heart and soul into this one!
Chorizo, Courgette & Pea Risotto
Print RecipeIngredients
- 160g Arborio (Risotto) Rice
- 125g Chorizo
- 1 x Large Courgette
- 125g Frozen Peas
- Parmesan Cheese, grated
- 1 x Red Onion
- 3 x Garlic Cloves
- 1.25L Vegetable Stock (stock pots are absolutely fine)
- A large glass (250ml) of White Wine (preferably Italian)
- Zest of a Lemon
- Fresh Mint, finely chopped
- Olive Oil
- Unsalted Butter
- A pinch of salt
Instructions
Start off by chopping the chorizo into 1 - 2cm chunks.
Place a large frying pan over a medium heat and allow to heat up for a minute or two.
Add the chorizo into the pan and cook until the chorizo starts to get darker and slightly crispy. Transfer the chorizo into a bowl, but leave as much of the lovely chorizo oil in the pan as you can.
Finely dice the red onion, crush the garlic cloves and into the pan with the chorizo oil and cook over a medium-low heat for 3 - 5 minutes until the onion starts to soften and become slightly translucent.
Next dice the courgette into roughly the same size pieces as the chorizo - about 1 - 2cm chunks - and add into the onions to cook for a few minutes.
Now turn the heat up to a medium-high heat and add the tablespoon of olive oil and knob of butter into the onions. Once the butter has completely melted, add in the arborio rice and cook for a couple of minutes to coat the rice in the oil and onions.
Splash in the white wine to the pan and stir it into the rice until all the liquid is absorbed. Add the pinch of salt too while you're here.
Now, ladle the vegetable stock into the rice a ladle at the time and continously stir into the rice all the time. Only add in another ladle when the liquid from the last ladle has been absorbed. You should be able to drag your spoon through the rice and leave a starchy path with no liquid. Do this repeatedly until all the stock has been used. This may take you a good 30 - 35 minutes!
Next, with all the stock absorbed, add in the frozen peas and cook them for a minute or two and then add in the chorizo and stir that in too.
Move the pan off the heat and add in grated Parmesan cheese and stir it in. The risotto should look thick and creamy with lovely, plump grains of rice.
Finally, stir in the lemon zest and mint.
Leave to rest for a minute and then serve up with another grating of parmesan cheese and with a glass of your favourite beverage.
