Risotto alla Contadina

Name: Risotto alla Contadina
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: handful of wild garlic leaves with their flowers (optional); dash of white wine; about 1.5 litres (2¾ pints) simmering vegetable stock; 2 leeks, well rinsed, trimmed (discarding dark green parts – use for stock) and finely chopped; 500 g (18 oz) risotto rice; 2 tbsp olive oil; 75 g (2¾ oz) butter; 2 tsp lemon juice; 55 g (2 oz) Parmesan, freshly grated, plus shavings to serve; salt and black pepper; 1 tbsp each of chopped mint and parsley; ½ courgette, cubed; 30 g (1¼ oz) podded broad beans (in season); 3 asparagus stalks, cut at an angle into 2 cm (¾ in) lengths

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Gate Vegetarian Cookbook

By Adrian Daniel and Michael Daniel

Published 2004

About

Wild garlic leaves make a wonderful springtime addition to this risotto. Shred the leaves and sauté with the vegetables. The garlic flowers, if you can get them, also make a lovely garnish.

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
75 g (2¾ oz) butter

Europe
Italy
Main course
Pasta
Mediterranean
Vegetarian

Method

Heat the oil and one-third of the butter in a deep heavy-based pan. Add the leeks and sauté until softened. Add the rice and stir until well coated in the fat. Increase the heat, add the wine and simmer gently. When most of the wine is absorbed, stir in a large ladleful of the hot stock. Cook over a moderate heat, stirring every few minutes and adding more stock as it is ab