Creamy Green Risotto

Cook: 40 min
Servings: 4

Ingredients

400 g risotto rice
1 dl extra virgin olive oil
4 shallots
4 cloves of garlic
2 fennel
1 dl white wine or 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 stalk of thyme
1.5 l vegetable or chicken stock
200 g parmesan cheese
2 tbsp butter
150 g naturel cream cheese
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pack of mini green asparagus
1 pack of frozen green pea

Twist

Play around with the recipe using flavoured cream cheese and adding your favourite vegetables.

Serving

The risotto makes a great starter on its own, or you may top with some fried chicken, bacon, fish or shellfish to make it a main

Take your risotto to the next level using cream cheese. This will give you an even creamier risotto complementing the crunchy asparagus perfectly.

Begin by finely chopping shallots, garlic, fennel and thyme. Warm up 2 tbsp olive oil in a big, thick-bottomed saucepan. Fry the onion mix until soft and transparent, then add the herbs.

Add the risotto rice and stir to cover the rice in oil. Add white wine or white wine vinegar, bring to a boil and let the rice absorb the liquid. Keep the stove on medium to low heat when preparing risotto.

In another saucepan, heat the stock. Pour the hot liquid into the risotto little by little and stir as the liquid gets absorbed. Continue this process until all stock has been added and the risotto has the desired texture. The whole process should take approx. 20-30 minutes.

Add the end you may want to add a bit more liquid to obtain the desired texture. Now mix in grated parmesan, cream cheese and a dollop of butter. Season with salt and pepper.

Mix in frozen peas and mini asparagus and let the risotto rest with a lid on for 10 minutes. Top the risotto with fresh herbs.