Spring green risotto

For some reason, I bought some leeks and fennel the other day - I've been trying to get more vegetables, I guess - and I looked through my cookbooks for a recipe that uses both, and I stumbled across spring green risotto, from Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics. So, my risotto kick continues, this time with wonderful greens.

You start by chopping leeks and fennel, then sauteeing in a butter/olive oil mixture. Food Network chefs have been pushing this technique a lot, because you get the flavor of butter and the high cooking temperature of oil.


Toss in the rice to coat, then white wine, and then ladle-fuls of chicken stock until the rice is nice and fluffy. At that point, you also throw in some frozen peas, parmigiano reggiano, salt, pepper, and whatever else you like.


Pretty awesome. It was very full of vegetables, so this was probably at least a serving and a half of veggies right here. I didn't use any asparagus, but I'd try that next time. (I had some asparagus, but I used it earlier in the week to make roasted asparagus and a orange pepper omelette.) This is a pretty great way to get your veggies!