Risotto Primavera & Seared Scallops
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Olive oil, sea salt & black pepper
1 bunch of asparagus
300g spinach
70g fresh mint leaves
100g ricotta
1 lemon (zested & juiced)
150g pancetta (if possible: 50g sliced & 100g cubed)
75g butter
1 brown onion (finely chopped)
2 leeks (finely chopped)
2 garlic cloves (crushed)
320g Arborio risotto rice
200ml white wine
1l vegetable or chicken stock
A handful of frozen peas
100g parmesan (grated)
200g scallops
A handful of parsley (finely chopped)
First put a large steamer on the boil and snap the hard ends off the asparagus before cooking. Steam the asparagus for 2 minutes (until they are slightly soft) and plunge briefly into a bowl of freezing cold water to keep their colour! Cut the asparagus into 5cm pieces and set aside.
Next steam the spinach and once it has cooked, plunge into the bowl of cold water. Squeeze out the water of the spinach and place in a food processor/blender with the mint leaves, ricotta, lemon zest and juice and then season. Blend the spinach mix and set aside.
In a large heavy based sauté pan, before you start the risotto, first fry off the pancetta slices and then the pancetta cubes over a medium-high heat for 3 minutes until they are crispy and browned. Set aside on kitchen towel which will absorb the excess fat.
Wipe out the excess fat from the large sauté pan and lower the heat before adding the butter. Once the butter has melted add the finely chopped onion and leeks, cooking for 3 minutes on a low-medium heat, then add the garlic, season and cook until golden and softened.
Add the Arborio rice to the sauté pan mixing in for 1 minute, the grains should go slightly translucent. Then pour over the white wine and let it bubble for 1 minute, boiling off the alcohol.
Keeping over a low-medium heat you can now begin to very gradually add the stock. Stirring often and ensuring the liquid has been absorbed by the rice each time you add more, basically don’t leave the pan!
After 20 minutes add the frozen peas then continue gradually adding all the liquids until the rice has softened, it usually takes 30 minutes.
When you think the risotto is close to being ready, add in the blended spinach and stir in the parmesan (more if you prefer it to be creamier). Taste and season with extra lemon juice, sea salt or black pepper at this point, cover and turn off the heat while you prep the scallops.
Place a frying pan on a high heat and add a glug of olive oil. Season the scallops before adding to the frying pan and cook until golden-brown, this will take 2-3 minutes.
Serve the risotto with a sprinkle of parsley and extra parmesan and place the scallops on top with a few slices of pancetta and a drizzle of good olive oil.
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