Springtime Risotto Recipe
RECIPE BY
KAREN PEVENSTEIN
Karen Pevenstein, Founder of Louis Sel, created this Spring Risotto recipe to celebrate the arrival of warm weekends. Making risotto may seem intimidating, but with a few tips from Karen and a little bit of patience, Risotto will become your new go-to dish for friends and family.
An avid Francophile and gourmet, Bostonian Karen first met Gilles, Matthieu, and their hand-harvested salts at a Parisian food fair. After trying it, she immediately fell in love. She searched for equivalents of these salts in specialty shops in the U.S., but never found anything that came close to the flavor and refinement. When she gave them as gifts to her friends, they soon discovered how this “magic salt” could transform their everyday cooking.
INGRENDIENTS LIST
1 Cup Carnaroli Rice, ~6 Cups Salted Water; White Wine, Louis Sel herbed salt,
Roasted Veggies (we use Asparagus), English Peas, Parmesan or Pecorino Cheese, Lemon, juice and zest
Choose The Right Rice
Choose carnaroli rice. It’s easier to find at shops and grocery stores these days. You can still use arborio, but the consistency of carnaroli is just a step above and tends to maintains its shape better.
Prepare Your Veggies
Whatever kind you're making, be sure to cook the veggies before adding to the risotto. For example, here we roast asparagus with some olive oil and our popular Louis Sel herbed salt. Roasting helps bring out the flavor even more and blends into the risotto nicely.
Skip The Broth!
You don’t actually need to use chicken or vegetable broth. For one cup of rice, take ~6 cups of water with some salt. Keep it on a simmer as you get the rice going. The flavor and saltiness from the cheese and vegetables will shine on their own.
Make Your Base
Bring ~6 cups of salted water to a simmer. In a separate heavy-bottomed pot, dice and sauté one onion until translucent, then ladle in a little of the simmering salted water to soak it up. Add 1 cup of rice to the onion mixture and let simmer for ~1 minute. Add a splash of white wine and some more Louis Sel to taste.
Stir, Stir, and Stir Some More
Patience is key. On medium heat, add one ladle of the salted water to the rice and onion. Grab a sturdy wooden spoon and stir until the rice has absorbed all the water. Repeat the "ladling, stirring, absorbing' process. It should take around thirty minutes to really get the risotto to a nice creamy consistency. Don’t add too many ladles, this is a slow and steady process. Keep stirring, ladling and testing until the risotto is al dente. Risotto is not a dish to make when you’re in a hurry. Look at it as a relaxing, meditative process!
Finish To Perfection
You’re almost done! Test the flavor and consistency. Add a little more herbed salt if needed or water if the rice is still not done. When it’s close, time to add the cheese and veggies. Parmesan is always a great bet, but I also like Pecorino as it also adds that extra saltiness. For this spring risotto, I also used some lemon juice to brighten. Stir in to incorporate with the risotto, then add your veggies. In this case we added our cut roasted asparagus along with some English peas. Don’t forget some more cheese and lemon zest to top it.
