Springtime Risoni with Peas and Asparagus

Risoni looks like rice and behaves like pasta, and if you cook it the way you would a risotto it turns unbelievably creamy without a drop of cream. Add the first asparagus of the season and a bag of frozen peas and you have a Monday night dinner that tastes like spring and costs almost nothing. Let's cook!

Why This Springtime Risoni Works

Cooking it like risotto is the whole trick. Adding stock a ladle at a time and letting each one absorb pulls the starch out of the pasta, and that starch is what makes it creamy. No cream, no butter, no extra cost.

Blending half the peas turns them into a sauce. You get the colour and the sweetness through every mouthful rather than peas rolling around on top, and the whole ones still give you texture.

Asparagus goes in twice, in two shapes. The stalks sliced into circles go in early to soften, the tips go in at the end so they stay bright and hold their shape.

Frozen peas are as good as fresh here, and a quarter of the price. They are picked and frozen within hours, and they bulk the dish out for very little.

Caramelised onion underneath does the seasoning. Softened slowly in oil first, it gives the whole thing a sweet savoury base before any stock goes near it.

Recipe Details

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Serves: 2 to 3, with leftovers for lunch
• Difficulty: Easy
• Special Equipment: A blender or stick blender for the pea purée

The one thing to get right is the stock, and specifically not dumping it in all at once. Add a ladle, stir, wait until it has almost gone, add another. It takes about twenty minutes of not walking away and it is the difference between creamy risoni and pasta in soup. The other thing worth knowing is where to cut your asparagus. The bottom of a spear can be woody and stringy no matter how long you cook it, so snap or slice an inch or so off the base. What is left divides naturally into two jobs: slice the bottom two thirds into circles, which cook down and sweeten into the dish, and halve the tips lengthways so they stay recognisably like asparagus on the plate. The tips go in at the very end.

Ingredients

• 1 onion, sliced
• 300g risoni, also sold as orzo
• About 1 litre vegetable or chicken stock, hot
• 250g frozen baby peas
• 1/2 bunch of asparagus, about 125g
• A good handful of grated parmesan, plus more to serve
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

How to Make Springtime Risoni

1. Prep everything first. Slice the onion. Trim an inch off the base of the asparagus where it is woody, slice the bottom two thirds of each spear into circles, and cut the tips in half lengthways. Keep the two piles separate.
2. Caramelise the onion. Olive oil in a wide pan over a low heat, the onion in with a pinch of salt, and let it soften slowly until sweet and golden. Do not rush this.
3. Toast the risoni. Tip it in and stir so every grain is coated in the onion oil.
4. Add the stock a ladle at a time. Pour in the first ladleful, stir, and let it almost fully absorb before you add the next. Keep going for about 20 minutes, until the risoni is nearly cooked and the whole thing has gone creamy.
5. Blanch the peas. While that happens, drop the peas into boiling water for a minute, then drain.
6. Make the pea purée. Take half the peas, blend them with a splash of stock until smooth, and season with salt and pepper.
7. Asparagus in, circles first. When the risoni is nearly there, stir in the asparagus circles and cook for a few minutes, then add the tips.
8. Pour in the purée. Stir it through and the whole pan turns a wonderful green.
9. Add the rest of the peas. The whole ones, right at the end, so they stay round and sweet.
10. Finish with parmesan. Grate in a good handful, season with plenty of pepper, and serve with more parmesan on top.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Creamy with no cream: The starch from the pasta does all of it
• Ready in 40 minutes: A proper Monday night dinner
• Tastes like spring: Asparagus and peas, bright and green
• Cheap to make: Frozen peas and a bag of risoni go a very long way
• Leftovers are excellent: It thickens overnight and reheats with a splash of water

Chef's Tips for Springtime Risoni

Use hot stock, not cold. Cold stock drops the temperature of the pan every time you add it and stalls the cooking. Keep it warm in a pan alongside.

Do not walk away. This is twenty minutes of stirring and adding. It is the one genuinely hands on part and it is what makes it creamy.

Cut the woody ends off properly. An inch or so off the base. If a spear is thick and tough at the bottom, take more. No amount of cooking fixes woody asparagus.

Blend only half the peas. All of them and you lose the texture entirely. Half gives you a sauce and half gives you something to bite.

Season the purée separately. It goes in near the end, so if it is bland it stays bland. Taste it in the blender jug.

Stop just before you think it is done. Risoni carries on cooking in the residual heat, and it firms up as it sits. Slightly loose in the pan is right on the plate.

Grate the parmesan yourself. A small block goes further than a bag of pre grated, keeps longer, and melts properly into the starch.

Substitutions & Variations

• No asparagus? Broccoli or broad beans do the same job. Green beans work too, sliced small
• Arborio or any small pasta in place of the risoni. Small shells or ditalini both work
• Add lemon zest at the end, which lifts the whole thing
• A spoon of pesto stirred through at the end if you have some open
• Mint instead of parmesan for a fresher, lighter version
• Make it vegan with a good vegetable stock and nutritional yeast or a vegan hard cheese

Storage

Best eaten fresh: Straight from the pan, while it is still loose and creamy.

Fridge: Three days in an airtight container. It sets firm as it cools, which is normal.

Freezer: Not recommended. The pasta goes soft and the peas lose their bite.

Avoid: Reheating it dry. Add a good splash of water or stock in the pan and stir until it loosens back up.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is risoni? Small rice shaped pasta, sold as orzo in a lot of places. It is pasta, not rice, which is why it releases starch and goes creamy when you cook it slowly.

Can I use orzo instead? They are the same thing under two names. Whichever your shop sells.

Why is mine not creamy? Almost always because the stock went in too fast. Adding it gradually and letting each addition absorb is what pulls the starch out. Cold stock does it too, so keep yours hot.

Can I use fresh peas? Yes, and they are lovely when they are in season. Frozen baby peas are sweeter than most fresh supermarket peas though, and a fraction of the price.

How do I know where to cut asparagus? Feel it. The base is noticeably tougher and more fibrous. An inch off the bottom is usually right, more if the spear is thick.

Can I make it ahead? It is at its best straight away, but it reheats well with a splash of water. Make it fresh if you can.

Is it vegetarian? Yes with vegetable stock. Use a vegetarian hard cheese in place of the parmesan if you are strict about it, since traditional parmesan uses animal rennet.

Can I double it? Yes, though use your widest pan. Risoni cooked deep steams rather than absorbing properly, and you lose the creaminess.

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This is the one I would start the week with. It looks like you have gone to some effort and it is really twenty minutes of stirring while you get on with your evening. And it is a genuine celebration of spring on a plate.

Enjoy!

Del x

Creamy risoni cooked like a risotto with pea purée, whole peas and the first asparagus of the season.