I’m back on my Barefoot Bloggers thing this month! This month’s recipe comes from Kimberly at Indulge & Enjoy. I know I just posted about risotto and trust me I wasn’t thrilled about making more risotto so soon but I was delighted at the spring-ness of this recipe. Leeks, asparagus, peas and fennel? Sign me up!
I’m taking a cooking class right now (post to come) so I ended up in the vicinity of the St Lawrence Market farmer’s market late Saturday morning for the rest of the summer. How awesome is that? It gives me an excuse to hit up the market and enjoy summer’s bounty. With that said I ended up buying most of my produce for this recipe form the market. AND price-wise it was pretty comparable to the supermarket.
I made one major-ish substitution to this recipe. I really didn’t want to buy mascarpone. A small tun is $6.99 and the bigger one is $12.99. The recipe only requires 1/3 cup. I said screw it and substituted a mix of cream cheese and sour cream instead. It was totally fine. Sure it’s not the same as mascarpone but the goal was to add some creaminess to the risotto and that worked like a charm. I also didn’t realize that there weren’t any chives in my fridge/freezer so I went without.
The risotto was pretty delicious. It was definitely more about the fresh vegetables than the rice. I loved that it was a good way to eat a lot of veggies in one sitting without even having to think about it. To make this vegetarian you could use veggie stock instead of chicken. I ate this as a main course but part of me wishes I would have thrown a piece of fish in the oven to eat alongside of it. I had to eat a LOT of rice to squelch my hunger.
Another winner from Ina Garten/ Barefoot Contessa!
Spring Green Risotto
Ingredients
* 1 1/2 tablespoons good olive oil
* 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 3 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 leeks)
* 1 cup chopped fennel
* 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
* 2/3 cup dry white wine
* 4 to 5 cups simmering chicken stock, preferably homemade
* 1 pound thin asparagus
* 10 ounces frozen peas, defrosted, or 1 1/2 cups shelled fresh peas
* 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
* 1/3 cup mascarpone cheese, preferably Italian
* 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
* 3 tablespoons minced fresh chives, plus extra for serving
Directions
Heat the olive oil and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the leeks and fennel and saute for 5 to 7 minutes, until tender. Add the rice and stir for a minute to coat with the vegetables, oil, and butter. Add the white wine and simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, until most of the wine has been absorbed. Add the chicken stock, 2 ladles at a time, stirring almost constantly and waiting for the stock to be absorbed before adding more. This process should take 25 to 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, cut the asparagus diagonally in 1 1/2-inch lengths and discard the tough ends. Blanch in boiling salted water for 4 to 5 minutes, until al dente. Drain and cool immediately in ice water. (If using fresh peas, blanch them in boiling water for a few minutes until the starchiness is gone.)
When the risotto has been cooking for 15 minutes, drain the asparagus and add it to the risotto with the peas, lemon zest, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Continue cooking and adding stock, stirring almost constantly, until the rice is tender but still firm.
Whisk the lemon juice and mascarpone together in a small bowl. When the risotto is done, turn off the heat and stir in the mascarpone mixture plus the Parmesan cheese and chives. Set aside, off the heat, for a few minutes, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve hot with a sprinkling of chives and more Parmesan cheese.
(Recipe from )
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so excited to hear about your cooking class!
Mmm, looks so springy and fabulous. Nice!
I enjoyed making this dish as well! Fun stopping by and seeing your delicious results!
Kindly, ldh
What a great picture! Looks so tasty. I’m glad you enjoyed this dish.
I was with you on the marscapone cheese. I also substituted cream cheese and it was nice and creamy. We loved it. Great job on yours! Very pretty!!!
What a delicious risotto. Tho photo is perfect! Thanks for sharing!