broad bean and pancetta risotto
Discover how you can use dairy-free cheese to add full-on flavour in this risotto.
This is a wonderfully earthy recipe, combining the powerfully-savory tastes of thyme and parsley with the substantial broad beans, and the strong pancetta and dairy-free cheese. If you can get fresh broad beans (in the summer), it's well worth the extra effort of shelling them. But don't worry if you can only get the frozen variety.
preparation time 5 minutes cooking time 20 to 25 minutes serves 4
contains: yeast
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
scant 1¼ cups arborio or other risotto rice
1¼ cups organic dry white wine
3½ cups hot gluten-, yeast,- and dairy-free vegetable stock, or vegetable stock made from gluten-, yeast,- and dairy-free bouillon powder
2 pounds 4 ounces broad beans, shelled, or 2½ cups shelled broad beans
7 ounces pancetta
1 tablespoon chopped thyme leaves
1 handful chopped flat-leaf parsley
2½ ounces dairy-free cheese, shaved
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until just starting to turn golden. Stir in the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, then lower the heat and stir in the rice until it is well coated in oil.
2 Pour a little of the wine into the mixture and stir. Continue cooking over a low heat, gradually adding and stirring in the wine, until it has all been absorbed. Add a ladle of the hot bouillon and stir until all the liquid has been absorbed. Continue adding and stirring in the hot bouillon for 18 to 20 minutes until nearly all the liquid has been absorbed.
3 Meanwhile, steam the broad beans in a saucepan of boiling water or a steamer for 5 to 7 minutes, depending on their size, until they are just tender. Remove from the heat, drain and set aside.
4 Pour the remaining oil into a heavy-based skillet and heat over a medium heat until hot. Add the pancetta and fry for 4 to 6 minutes until just crispy. Remove from the pan and drain on kitchen paper.
5 When the risotto mixture is almost cooked, season lightly with salt and pepper to taste and add the beans and pancetta. Stir in carefully and continue to cook for a further minute until the rice is soft but still has a slight bite and all the liquid has been absorbed. Stir in the thyme and parsley leaves, and sprinkle with the shavings of cheese. Serve immediately.
