Go Back

Risotto Verde

This delicious risotto verde recipe has a vibrant green sauce made from vegetables and topped with crispy pancetta, lemon zest, and parmesan cheese. The green sauce is made from three different vegetables pureed into a creamy broth that the risotto cooks in.
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup Arborio Rice
  • 1 tbsp Salted Butter
  • 4 oz Pancetta diced
  • 1/2 Yellow Onion finely diced
  • 4 Garlic Cloves finely minced
  • 1/2 cup White Wine
  • 4 cups Chicken Broth
  • 1 bundle Asparagus Only use the top half of each stalk. Cut into 1" pieces.
  • 1 cup Fresh Spinach
  • 1/2 cup Frozen Peas you can use more if you want
  • 1 cup Parmesan Cheese Freshly Grated
  • 1/4 tsp Sea Salt
  • Lemon Zest

Instructions
 

  • Using only the top half of the asparagus stalks, prepare your asparagus tips. Chop them into 1" pieces. Set aside.
  • Add your diced pancetta to to the pan. Cook this until the pancetta starts to brown. Remove from the pan and set aside.
  • Dice the onions and garlic pretty small so that they blend well with the risotto mixture. Cook the onions and garlic until they are translucent.
  • Add the arborio rice and white wine to the pan with the onions and garlic. Cook for about 3 minutes.
  • After about 3 minutes of the wine and and rice simmering together, stir in some chicken broth. I begin with 2 cups of chicken broth and a good stir. I continue to stir once every 5 minutes until I see that most of my liquid is evaporating. Once the liquid is almost gone, continue adding the broth one cup at a time. You should always wait until the broth has cooked into the rice before you add each cup of broth. You should see that the dish is becoming very creamy. Give it a good stir every few minutes.
  • Add the spinach to a vitamix or blender with 1/2 cup of chicken broth. If you are having trouble blending it, you can add another 1/4 cup of broth. Add about 1/4 cup of cheese during this step too to flavor the spinach puree. Blend together.
  • Add the asparagus tips and frozen peas to the risotto. Once they are starting to get tender add your spinach puree. Cook until the asparagus is al dente and you have a creamy risotto.
  • Remove from heat and add lemon zest and juice plus parmesan cheese. Using a microplane or the finest size of a cheese grater, scrape the lemon across. Keep turning the lemon, making sure only to use the bright yellow part and now the white bitter skin underneath.
  • Finally, add your crispy pancetta on top.