Risotto with spring peas and prawns

Less is more with this risotto as a handful of simple ingredients bring together a bowl of steaming, costal Italian goodness.

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  40 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Stream free On Demand

Episode 3

episode • Cook Like an Italian with Silvia Colloca • 

cooking • 

26m

G

episode • Cook Like an Italian with Silvia Colloca • 

cooking • 

26m

G

Ingredients

• 2 litres vegetable stock
• 4 cups peas in their pods (or 1 cup shelled peas) 
• 12 green prawns, peeled and deveined, tails left in-tact, shells and heads reserved
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
• 40 g butter
• 1 french shallot, finely chopped
• 350 g arborio rice
• 200 ml dry white wine 
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Place the stock in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. 

2. Shell the peas and add a handful of pods to your stock along with the reserved prawn heads and shells.

3. Heat the oil and half the butter in a large, heavy-based frying pan over low-medium heat. Add the shallot and saute over low heat til translucent. Add the rice and stir until all the grains are well coated in the fat and lightly toasted. Add the wine and simmer, stirring occasionally until it no longer smells of alcohol. Start adding the stock, a few ladlefuls at a time so that the rice is always submerged. Don’t over-stir. Just do it gently and occasionally. The more you stir, the more you have to stir to stop it from sticking! Cook, adding more stock as necessary for 15-16 minutes or until the rice is almost al dente.

4. Stir in the peas, then taste for seasoning and adjust to your liking. At this point turn off the heat. Add the remaining butter and another ladleful of stock and stir vigorously to release the starch. Stir in the prawns, cover, and stand for 2-3 minutes to allow the residual heat to cook them through. In this time the rice will also continue cooking which is why it’s important to turn the heat off when it’s still quite al dente. Serve in shallow bowls, drizzled with a little extra oil, and eat straight away! 

Silvia Colloca shares her Italian family secrets in the brand-new series, Cook like an Italian.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Stream free On Demand

Episode 3

episode • Cook Like an Italian with Silvia Colloca • 

cooking • 

26m

G

episode • Cook Like an Italian with Silvia Colloca • 

cooking • 

26m

G