Risotto – an Italian classic and rightly so.
If any dish needs total devotion and some TLC it is a risotto and you will not regret the time you give this velvety rice dish.
This risotto has the saltiness of the pancetta and earthiness of the mushrooms and then this delightful spring taste of peas pops through and then a tangy parmesan to bring it all together in a harmonious warming meal.
We absolutely love risotto here in our home and although this is our favourite the dish is actually very versatile.
If you fancy your risotto simple and flavoursome just eliminate the peas, pancetta and mushrooms. Cooking for friends of which maybe one is vegetarian – just change from chicken to vegetable stock, take out the pancetta and add some spinach at the same time as the peas.
So what is your favourite risotto recipe and let me know what you think of this one. I am sure you will fall in love with it straight away.

Pea, Pancetta and Mushroom Risotto
Ingredients
- 1 litre Chicken Stock
- 70 g Pancetta
- 25 g Butter
- 1 Small onion finely chopped
- 75 g Mushroom thinly sliced
- 1 tsp Fresh thyme leaves
- 400 g Risotto rice
- 100 ml White Wine
- 200 g Frozen peas
- 75 g Parmesan
- 2 tbsp. Chives finely chopped
- 2 tbsp. fresh parsley finely chopped
- Sea Salt
- Fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- Warm the stock in a saucepan and keep on a low heat.
- In a medium sized saucepan dry fry the pancetta over a medium heat until browned and starting to crisp.
- Add the butter and then fry the onion and thyme for about 5 minutes and then add the mushrooms and then cook for a further minute. Add the rice and then turn up the heat a notch and fry the rice for about a minute. The rice will start to look a little translucent of which you add the wine and cook until the wine has nearly been absorbed by the rice, stirring all the time.
- From this point add the stock a ladle at a time and stir constantly until the liquid has been absorbed. Slowly add the stock a ladle at a time until one remaining and completely absorbed.
- At this point add the peas and then the final ladle of stock and stir until the stock has been absorbed.
- At this point the rice should be soft with a little bite and have a velvety consistency. Add half of the parmesan, parsley and chives and season with salt and pepper.
What about the wine , do we just drink it?
Good Evening Christine,
Thank you for noticing this in my recipe. I have updated the recipe to reflect the addition of the wine.
Hope you enjoy the recipe now.