Fall is upon us so that means it’s risotto season in our house. With the air cooling off it means it’s okay to spend some time in front of the stove stirring away for thirty minutes or more. Making risotto is a labor of love – it cannot be rushed.

We were very fortunate to have our oldest niece, Mia K, visit us for a long weekend. We’re not sure where the time has gone – Mia is now a senior in high school and is deep in her college search. In addition to touring some local colleges, we had some fabulous meals. My sister, Dixie J, knows how much Ed and I like to eat and urged Mia to be open to trying new things. Mia had never had risotto (forgive me, Dixie, if that was not entirely true) so we knew we had to remedy that. Beginning with additions she liked – prosciutto and peas – we were fairly certain that we would win her over. I’m pleased to report that we did.

Making risotto can seem daunting but I promise you that it is not. The key to good risotto is time and short-grained rice such as arborio. Short-grained rice has a higher starch content which is important to making successful risotto. It is easy to find in your local grocery store.

Preparing it is a joint effort in our house. I take care of the first steps – sautéing the shallots and rice followed by adding wine and the first ladle or two of broth. Then Ed takes over adding a ladle of broth at a time while stirring. This process releases the starch from the rice and when mixed with broth results in a creamy texture. Dairy doesn’t contribute to this process. We do add cheese at the end but that is optional and can be left out if you’d like to make it dairy-free.

Just before the rice is finished cooking, you add in the extra ingredients – in this case prosciutto and peas. Make sure that you’re not adding cold ingredients, so bring the prosciutto to room temperature and thaw or microwave the peas. Don’t forget the lemon zest as it provides just the right amount of tart to the dish.

I always have both prosciutto (4 ounce packages from Wegmans), peas and lemons in the house so I can make this risotto or add it to traditional pasta. 

Ed and I perfected this risotto recipe twenty plus years ago and always enjoy serving it to family and friends plus finding new combinations of add-ons. You can vary the type of wine and/or broth, too. It was especially fun to introduce it to Mia. 

Prosciutto and Pea Risotto

 

Prosciutto and Pea Risotto
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Recipe type: Main Dish
Author:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 5 cups chicken broth
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 shallots, chopped
  • 1-1/2 cups arborio rice
  • ¾ cup dry white wine
  • 4 ounces prosciutto, at room temperature and torn into small strips (see Notes)
  • 1-1/4 cup frozen peas, thawed (see Notes)
  • Zest from one lemon (divided)
  • ⅓ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving
  • Garnish with fresh basil and lemon zest
Instructions
  1. In a stockpot or large saucepan, bring broth to a gentle simmer over low heat.
  2. Heat olive oil in a heavy saucepan (at least 4 quarts) over medium-low heat. Sauté shallots until soft, about 7 minutes. Add rice and sauté until it’s glistening and well coated with shallots, about 3 minutes.
  3. Raise heat to medium and add wine. Stir until it almost evaporates, about 2 minutes. Using a ladle, add about 1 cup hot chicken broth. Stir constantly until broth has been adsorbed. Add another ladleful of broth and keep stirring until it’s been adsorbed.
  4. Continue the process, adding broth a ladleful at a time and stirring in this way until the rice kernels are plump and no longer chalk white in the center. This should take 25-30 minutes altogether. The rice is almost done when the kernels are still separate but starting to bind, and there are pools of broth on the surface. It’s done when the liquid has been adsorbed, and the kernels are bound in what looks like very ricey, yet somewhat creamy, rice pudding (and rice doesn’t stick to your teeth when you taste it). You don’t have to use all of the broth.
  5. When the risotto is nearly done, add prosciutto and peas. Stir well until all of the liquid has been adsorbed. Remove from heat. Stir in grated cheese and almost all of the lemon zest. Sprinkle with chopped fresh basil and remaining lemon zest.
  6. Serve immediately with additional cheese.
Notes
* You don’t want to cool down the risotto by adding cold ingredients like chilled prosciutto or frozen peas. Take the prosciutto out of the refrigerator prior to preparing the risotto. If your peas aren’t thawed, microwave them for a few minutes and drain off any excess liquid.
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