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Wild garlic season is here! While the obvious thing to make with foraged handfuls of this pungent allium is a Wild Garlic Pesto (and fingers crossed I’ve got a few more wild garlic recipes coming later in the month), I prefer to whip up a batch of Wild Garlic Butter which is the star of this simple, elegant, and totally indulgent Wild Garlic Butter & Pea Risotto.
It is no secret that when I’m home alone one of my favourite dinners to make for myself is a leisurely risotto (glass of wine in hand as I stir) as J is not really a fan. In the summer I make my Easy Courgette & Lemon Risotto with a gooey ball of burrata served on the side for stirring into the rice as you eat, and in autumn you’ll find me stirring up a pot of either my Easy Mixed Mushroom Risotto, or the Butternut Squash Risotto everyone loves from One Pan Pescatarian(ad).
But when we’ve come to the very end of winter and spring is starting to appear? All I crave is a bowl of this comforting Wild Garlic Butter & Pea Risotto.
Bonus points if you’ve frozen a block of wild garlic butter in slices for once the season is over, because if you’ve done that, you have frozen peas (who doesn’t?), a lemon, some risotto rice and a splash of white wine, you’ve got dinner.
I also love that while you’ve stirred a good amount of garlic butter into the rice at the end, that I’ve left the cheese out of this one makes it much simpler, and much lighter than you’d expect. I also suspect it would be very family friendly, and this way you don’t need to worry about if the parmesan is suitable for vegetarians or not, if that’s your thing.
This light and easy Wild Garlic Butter & Pea Risotto is the perfect way to use seasonal wild garlic butter in a simple yet elegant supper, brightened with a handful of peas and a hit of fresh lemon zest.
Peel and finely chop the onion. Heat the oil in medium saucepan over a heat that is on the cooler side of medium, and add the onion along with a generous pinch of salt. Cook gently for 6-8 minutes or so until the onion is soft but has not taken on any colour.
Stir in the risotto rice and heat through for a couple of minutes. Stir in the white wine, allowing it to evaporate away into the rice.
Gradually add the hot stock, bit by bit, stirring every couple of minutes until the stock has absorbed into the rice, which should be al-dente, and which should have just about reached the desired consistency.
Add a splash more stock along with the peas, and allow to cook for a minute or two more until the peas are warmed through.
Stir in the wild garlic butter and the lemon zest before seasoning to taste and serving between two warm bowls. If it is the right time of the season for them, a sprinkling of wild garlic flowers on top of each bowl would be the perfect garnish.
Notes
Depending on the size and surface area of your pan, and the amount of heat you are using, you may not need all the stock, and you may need to add a splash more stock or water. Keep checking the rice for doneness towards the end of the cooking time.
I'm a food writer living in London and the English Countryside. Welcome to my online diary where I share easy, weeknight recipes, foodie travel diaries and some of the best places I've eaten out recently.
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One Pan Pescatarian: 100 Delicious Dinners – Veggie, Vegan, Fish
My second cookbook contains 100 delicious dinner recipes, all of which are either vegetarian, vegan or which celebrate fish and seafood - all cooked in either one pot or one pan.*
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