Retro Recipe Revival: Risotto Prima Vera

Retro Recipe Revival: Risotto Prima Vera

It’s time for another one from the archives, this time from a recipe book that accompanied the Tower Pressure Cooker sold throughout the early to mid-90s. This week’s Retro-Recipe Revival takes all the hassle out of what can often be a time-consuming, tricky dish. Ladies and gentlemen, we give you Risotto Prima Vera.

Recommended appliance

Tower 6 Litre/22cm Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker Total time to table: 18 minutes Total Cost Per Serving: £2.39 Contains Nuts? No Suitable for Vegetarians? No (contains chicken stock) Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 85ml olive oil
• x 1 onion (finely chopped)
• x 1 garlic clove (crushed)
• 250g Arborio rice
• 200ml dry white wine
• 800ml chicken or vegetable stock (brought to the boil)
• 115g baby courgettes (cut into 1.5cm pieces)
• 115g baby asparagus (cut into 1.5cm pieces)
• 115g green beans (cut into 1.5cm pieces)
• 115g petit pois
• 50g unsalted butter
• 50g freshly grated parmesan (plus extra shavings for garnish)
• x 2 tbspns fresh basil (finely chopped, plus sprigs for garnish)
• Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper

Preparation

• Heat your pressure cooker and add the olive oil. Finely chop the onion and garlic (we recommend using the 1.8-inch slicer knife from the Tower 5 Piece Knife Set with Acrylic Stand). Next, add them to the pot and cook for 2 minutes.

• Add the Arborio rice and stir thoroughly to ensure that each and every grain is coated (the Tower 6 Piece Cerasafe Utensil Set and Carousel comes in especially handy for this task!).

• Add the dry white wine and then cook for 2 minutes before adding the stock and stirring again to combine.

• Replace the pressure cooker lid and bring to full pressure over a medium heat and cook for 8 minutes until the rice is al dente (just tender).

• When the rice is cooked, release the pressure using the cold water quick-release method and stir well to prevent any grains sticking to the bottom of the pot.

• Keep the pressure cooker on a low to medium heat and add the courgettes, asparagus, green beans and petit pois. Stir well to combine and cook for 4 minutes.

• To finish the risotto, stir in the butter and then do the same with the parmesan. Beat the mixture with a heat-resistant spoon until it becomes thick and glossy and then season to taste.

• Just before serving, stir in the finely chopped basil.

Serving

• Heap into high-sided serving bowls and sprinkle over some parmesan shavings and garnish with basil sprigs. This meal is best accompanied by a nice chianti.

If you’d like to try this recipe or others from the Retro Recipe Revival series, head over to our Pressure Cookers and Food Preparation pages before you get started. There you’ll find all sorts of useful appliances (in addition to those mentioned here) that can help you rustle up these fantastic meals in minutes!