Mint, chilli and courgette is one of my all time favourite flavour combinations, and with the crunch of the fresh peas contrasting with the creamy risotto and gooey melted mozarella, this is an amazing way to celebrate the start of summer. Adapted from a Jamie's 20 minute meals recipe.
Serves 4
2 litres good quality veg stock (eg. Marigold)
2 courgettes
About 1kg unshelled fresh peas
1 medium white onion
A knob of butter
300g risotto rice (Arborio or Carnaroli)
Half a glass of white wine
1 red chilli
A handful of fresh mint leaves
A packet or two of Buffalo Mozzarella
Bring the veg stock to the boil and turn down to a simmer. Top and tail the courgettes. Slice around 5mm off each side lengthways, leaving the fleshy core. Reserve the sides for later, roughly chop the core and add to the veg stock. Simmer for 5-10 minutes or until the courgette is nice and soft and take off the heat. Blitz using an immersion blender until a smooth consistency is achieved and return the pan to the heat. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. And maybe a bay leaf if you feel like it.
Get a big heavy bottomed pan on a low heat. Finely dice the onion, and fry gently in butter or oil. Turn the heat up to high and add the risotto rice. Cook for a minute or two to seal the rice, stirring constantly. Add the wine and cook until the rice has absorbed most of the liquid. Begin adding the stock a ladle at a time, stirring every couple of minutes to prevent the rice sticking. When all the liquid has been absorbed, add the next ladle, and so on. This should take around 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, begin the tedious task of shelling the peas. If possible, rope in the assistance of family/girlfriend/kitchen porters/builders/passing strangers. Don't forget to keep stirring the rice and adding stock ladle by ladle. Reserve the leftover pods for pea soup or add to the stock pot.
I tend to throw almost all of the waste leftovers into the stock - pea pods, top and tail of the courgette, mint stalks, chilli stalk and seeds etc. Do this after blending or you'll end up with a stringy, bitty stock. Also, ladle the stock through a sieve to prevent getting any bits in your risotto.
Wash the mint leaves and reserve the smallest/prettiest leaves or sprigs for the garnish. Chiffonade the remaining leaves and set aside. De-seed the chilli and slice lengthways as finely as possible. Take about half the thinnest/prettiest slices and put them into a bowl of ice water. This will make them curl up into to little spirals that look awesome as a garnish. Finely chop the remaining chilli and set aside. Take the courgette sides from earlier and slice them into kinda half moon shapes.
When the risotto is about 2/3 done, put the peas into a sieve and lower them into the stock to blanch for a minute or two. Pull the sieve up to drain the peas and add to the risotto. Don't cook them for too long as they'll keep cooking in the risotto and you want to retain that lovely crunch. Repeat with the half moon courgette. Add the finely chopped chilli, and the mint chiffonade. Put the oven on it's lowest setting and put the plates in to warm. Get your knives and forks out and get the table set. Light a candle or something.
Continue adding the stock and stirring. Just before the rice is ready, drain the buffalo mozzarella, tear it up by hand and throw it in the risotto. Stir in another knob of butter and check the seasoning, add salt and pepper to taste. When it's done, the rice should retain a little bite and the sauce should be thick and oozy without being sticky. Garnish with the reserved mint and chilli, and drizzle over a little extra virgin olive oil.
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