Creamy Pesto Risotto

Creamy Pesto Risotto with Asparagus, Peas and Lemon. I teamed up with my friends at Fresh Start Fauxmage to create this tasty recipe. I have wanted to make a risotto with this particular vegan cheese product for quite some time now. Their "Creamy Pesto" variety was a perfect choice for this dish. It's delicious. Think basil, garlic, lemon, & super creamy. This product allows you to add incredible flavour to a dish effortlessly. Right now I'm really digging it in this recipe, or melted into hot pasta with whatever veg for a quick meal. They provide world wide shipping and are available in locations across Canada.

I think a lot of people might be a bit intimidated to make a risotto at home. Maybe you've never had it, or only have had it in a restaurant. I'm happy to report, it's actually incredibly simple. Yes you have to stir the rice fairly continuously while adding hot stock to the pan for about 30 minutes, but it's not hard. If you have a good recipe to follow, the main thing to keep in mind is the texture of the rice. Try not to over cook it. It shouldn't be completely soft. There should still be a bit of bite to the rice. Then pay attention to the consistency of the final dish. It should be creamy and a bit fluid, not stiff and dried out. 

If I was making this in a restaurant, I would cook the risotto 3/4 of the way through, then dump it onto a large sheet pan to cool completely. Then when you want to prepare a portion, just add desired amount of risotto to a pan over medium - medium high heat, and stir in stock until the rice has absorbed enough liquid. Just taste a couple of times. 

​Serves 4

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ​1 x 180 g container Creamy Pesto Fauxmage
• 1 bunch of asparagus
• ½ cup frozen peas 
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 onion, small dice
• 1.5 cups arborio rice
• ½ cup dry white wine (optional)
• 5 - 6 cups veg stock
• a squeeze of fresh lemon
• S & P

Method:

1. Cut woody ends from asparagus, discard, then cut remaining asparagus into ½ to 1 inch pieces. Place on a sheet pan, drizzle with a bit of the olive oil, season with  s & p, and roast in a 425 F oven for about 10 minutes or until the asparagus looks bright green. They should still have a bit of a bite to them and not be completely soft. Set aside.
2. Add vegetable stock to a small pot and heat, then keep hot over low heat while you start the risotto.
3. Add remaining olive oil to a large pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic & season with   S & P. Cook until softened.
4. Add arborio rice to the pan, stir around to coat with oil until rice is translucent. About 5 minutes. Season with S & P.
5. Deglaze the pan with white wine, stir and let it reduce.
6. Now add a ladle full of hot vegetable stock and stir continuously until the liquid has been absorbed.
7. Repeat step 6 with consecutive additions of stock until about ¾ of the stock has been used (takes about 25 minutes), then try the rice to see whether enough liquid has been absorbed. The grains should be tender but not mushy. (You might have some stock leftover). When the rice is almost ready, proceed to step 8. The rice should be loose with a bit of liquid still in the pan. You don’t want the risotto to be stiff and dry at this point (or ever). It should be fluid but creamy. 
8. Turn heat down to medium low, add Fauxmage, frozen peas and asparagus and stir into the rice until the Fauxmage is melted and the veggies are hot. Taste and season with more salt and pepper and a squeeze or two of fresh lemon juice. If you need to add a bit more stock to loosen the rice a bit you can.
9. Serve straight away.