Risotto
Primavera
Spring vegetable risotto
Asparagus, peas and carrots bring spring vegetables to risotto, finished with butter, Parmigiano-Reggiano and a little fresh parsley.
A mixed-vegetable variation; the recipe uses asparagus, peas & carrotsRice and spring vegetables,
timed to keep their texture.
Risotto primavera is risotto with a mixture of spring vegetables. Primavera means spring, and the selection can change with the market: asparagus, peas, young carrots, artichokes and broad beans all appear in different versions. The rice cooks with stock until tender but still distinct.
The home recipe chooses asparagus, peas and carrots, adding them at different stages so the carrot softens without the asparagus tips collapsing. Butter and Parmigiano finish the rice off the heat, making a soft first course with distinct grains. The photograph uses a different vegetable mix, including broccoli and tomato, rather than the three vegetables specified below.
Explore by food: Rice & grains · Vegetables & cheese
Let’s make risotto primavera.
Four first-course portions with trimmed asparagus, peas and finely diced carrot. Prepared vegetable stock is the starting broth.
Four first-course portions with 320 g rice and 550 g prepared vegetables.
What you’ll need
- 320 gCarnaroli rice
- 250 gasparagus, weighed after woody ends are trimmed
- 150 gshelled peas, fresh or frozen
- 150 gcarrot, peeled and cut into 5 mm dice
- 80 gonion, finely chopped
- 40 gcelery, finely chopped
- 15 mlextra-virgin olive oil
- 35 gunsalted butter, divided
- 100 mldry white wine
- 1.3 lprepared low-salt vegetable stock
- 60 gParmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated
- 1 tbspchopped parsley
- to tastefine salt and black pepper
Stock heats alongside the pan stages. Preparation includes trimming and finely dicing the vegetables; larger carrot pieces need longer. Peas can go in frozen. Timing is an estimate for Carnaroli rice, so check the grain and vegetable texture.
How to make it
- 01
Prepare asparagus and hot stock
Cut asparagus stalks into 1 cm pieces and keep the tips separately. Bring stock to a bare simmer in a saucepan and keep hot.
- 02
Soften the firm vegetables
In a wide pan, heat oil and 15 g butter over medium-low heat. Add onion, celery and diced carrot. Cook for 9–10 minutes, stirring, until the onion is soft and the carrot has begun to soften.
- 03
Toast rice and start the liquid
Add rice and stir for 2 minutes. Pour in wine and cook for 1 minute until mostly evaporated. Add hot stock a ladle at a time, stirring often and letting each addition mostly absorb before the next.
- 04
Add vegetables in stages
After 7 minutes of rice cooking, add asparagus stalks and peas. After another 5 minutes add asparagus tips. Continue for about 6–8 minutes, adding stock as needed, until the rice is tender with a slight bite and all vegetables are tender. Check a piece of carrot as well as the rice.
- 05
Finish gently
Take off heat and stir in the remaining 20 g butter, cheese and parsley. Rest for 2 minutes, then taste for salt and pepper. Loosen with a little more hot stock if needed and serve immediately on warm plates. You may not use all the stock.
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