I’ve adapted this recipe from a Donna Hay cookbook – Off the Shelf.  Her’s is a baked risotto & I’d been making it for years before I got my Thermomix.   I love the freshness of Donna Hay recipes & this risotto has lovely fresh flavours, especially from the lemon & mint.

I don’t eat seafood myself, so that’s why there are so many chicken recipes on my blog.  This recipe can easily become a Prawn, Lemon & Pea Risotto.  Simply replace the chicken thigh with 300g green prawns, that have been peeled & tailed.   Follow this recipe up to step 7, but don’t add the chicken.  Then at step 8, cook the risotto for 11 minutes (instead of 14 minutes), then add the prawns & cook for 3 more minutes at the same temperature/speed as this recipe.

Ingredients:
40g parmesan cheese
large handful mint
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
1 leek, roughly chopped
40g butter
40g olive oil
320g arborio rice
60g white wine
250g chicken thigh or breast, cubed
1 tbsp vegetable stock concentrate
720g water
120g frozen peas

Method:
1) Place parmesan cheese in TM bowl, grate 10 seconds/speed 10. Set aside.
2) No need to clean & dry TM bowl, however wipe excess cheese from bowl with paper towel.
3) Add lemon zest to TM bowl (I peel lemon using a potato peeler). Grate 10 seconds/speed 10.

4) Add leek, chop 3 seconds/speed 5.
5) Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add butter & oil, saute 3 minutes/120 degrees/speed 1.
6) Insert Butterfly Whisk (optional). Add rice, cook 1 minute/120 degrees/reverse/speed 1.5 (without MC)

7) Add wine, saute 2 minutes/Varoma/reverse/speed 1.5 (without MC).  Scrape bottom of TM bowl well with spatula to loosen rice.
8) Add stock, chicken & water.  Cook 13 minutes/100 degrees/reverse/speed 1.5.   Place simmering basket on top of lid & weigh in frozen peas (peas will defrost as the risotto cooks).

9) Pour peas into Thermo Server with risotto, reserved parmesan, mint & lemon juice.  Stir to combine.

10) Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.  (rice will continue to cook during this resting period).

Notes:

I use herb scissors to chop the mint.  Instead, you can add the mint with the parmesan in step 1 & grate them together. 

In step 8, simmering basket is on the lid, to allow the risotto to evaporate & to defrost the peas.