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Baked Spring Risotto

October 26, 2021 by themacphersondiaries Leave a Comment

A lovely simple risotto with green peas, asparagus, parmesan and fresh herbs that is cooked in the oven.

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My Baked Spring Risotto is exactly what I feel like eating when the weather starts to warm up. Studded with green vegetables and finished with a squeeze of lemon I just love the flavour of this risotto. However, I don’t enjoy standing over a pot stirring constantly to make risotto the traditional way for a simple week night dinner, instead this risotto bakes in the oven!

Ingredients needed:

Butter

Onion and garlic

Salt and pepper

Arborio Rice, it really does need to be Arborio for risotto

Chicken Stock

Parmesan cheese, I like parmesan however you can use cheddar  

Frozen peas, thawed

Asparagus, must be fresh asparagus for this recipe, not canned or frozen

Fresh herbs, I have used mini basil, other herbs such as mint, parsley or basil would all work nicely  

Cream, you can leave this out if you want to cut down on the dairy

Lemon, or lime, or lemon juice can be used here

How to make Baked Spring Risotto:

Start by preheating the oven to 180 degrees fan bake.

Next step is to sauté the onions in butter until translucent, season them with salt and pepper while they are cooking. Cook them slowly and gently so that they don’t colour.

Add the garlic and arborio rice and stir with a wooden spoon so that the rice gets coated in the lovely salty butter and toasts a little in the pan. You don’t want the garlic to burn so simply cook for a minute then add the stock.

Bring to a boil, then place the lid on the pot and transfer to the oven to finish off cooking. The risotto will take around 20 – 30 minutes, I like to stir it half way through so it doesn’t stick.

While the risotto is cooking, cut your asparagus. I like to break off the woody ends, then cut on the diagonal, because it looks appealing, into 3 pieces.

Steam the asparagus in a pot over boiling water until only just cooked. We still want them to be nice and tender as the asparagus will continue to cook a little after it is taken off the heat and no one likes flabby asparagus.

Take the cooked risotto from the oven, add the peas, parmesan, cream, and butter and stir to combine. Now add the asparagus and squeeze in the juice of half a lemon. Taste the risotto and add more seasoning if needed. I found that my risotto didn’t need more seasoning as my stock was salty and I added seasoning to the onions while cooking.

Finally sprinkle over the fresh herbs and serve.

If you are looking for more easy dinner ideas check out my posts for Creamy Smoked Salmon Pasta and Kung Pao Chicken.

Common questions about Baked Spring Risotto:

Can I use different vegetables? Absolutely, you can use roasted vegetables, frozen corn, fresh rocket, the options are endless really 😊

Can I add some protein? Bacon or chicken would be lovely in this risotto.

What wine would match with this risotto? A Sauvignon Blanc would be lovely with the fresh green flavours, and citrus from the lemon in this recipe.

Print

Baked Spring Risotto

Ingredients

  • 50 grams of butter
  • 1 onion finely diced
  • 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1.5 Cups Arborio Rive
  • 1 litre Chicken Stock
  • ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup frozen peas thawed
  • 1 large bunch of asparagus
  • ¼ cup fresh herbs I have used mini basil
  • ½ cup Cream
  • ½ lemon

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees fan bake
  2. Take your Biroix cast iron dish and place over a medium heat, add half the butter, once it has melted add the onion and sauté for around 4 minutes until translucent, season well with salt and pepper while cooking.
  3. Now add the garlic and rice and cook for 1 minute, stirring.
  4. Add the stock and bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer, put a lid on and transfer to the oven to finish cooking.
  5. It will take around 20-30 minutes to cook. Stir halfway through.
  6. While the rice is cooking, prepare your asparagus by snapping off the ends and cutting into 2-3 pieces, I like to cut on a diagonal, purely for aesthetic reasons!
  7. Steam the asparagus until only just done, it will continue to cook once taken off the heat and once added to the hot risotto as well.
  8. Once the risotto is cooked, remove from the oven and add the peas, parmesan, cream and the remaining butter and stir to combine. Finally add the asparagus and the juice of half a lemon, taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Stock can be salty so you may not need to add any more seasoning at all.
  9. Serve with fresh herbs.
  10. Happy Cooking xx Jana

Recipe Notes

Herbs – I have used mini basil as it is so lovely! But other herbs that would be lovely are Flat leaf parsley, mint, basil, or a combination of all three.


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This recipe was written for Biroix who make these beautiful Cast Iron Dutch Ovens. I love cooking with my Biroix dishes and find them versatile and easy to clean. Plus so pretty to look at! You can find more information on Biroix here.


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Filed Under: Food, Janas Dinner Club Tagged With: asparagus, baked risotto, dinner recipes, food blog, JanasDinnerClub, risotto, the macpherson diaries

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Hi, I’m Jana!

Hi, I’m Jana. I live in gorgeous Arrowtown with my 2 children, Hunter (6) and River (4), Husband Hamish, and a dog & a cat for good measure.

I love cooking and sharing recipes here with you. I am a home cook and enjoy making all sorts of dishes, as long as they are simple & delicious!

Here on the blog you will find recipes such as One Pan Coconut Chicken, Whole Orange Cake with White Chocolate Icing & Eggs Shakshuka.

When I am not in the kitchen or playing with my children by the local river, I can be found trekking the gorgeous walks on our doorstep, or sampling some of the incredible local wines.

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