Spring Veg Risotto with Pancetta Crumb (GF)

We whipped this naturally gluten free spring veg risotto up the other night on a bit of a whim and it turned out beautifully. Soft risotto rice with lots of lovely green veggies and a crispy pancetta bacon crumb on top. Serve with some salad and a gluten free beer for a great night in!

Gluten Free Spring Veg Risotto with a Pancetta Crumb (Serves 4)

Ingredients

A drizzle of olive oil and a knob of butter
1 large white onion, finely diced
A bunch of asparagus, chopped into pieces
One courgette, grated (skin on)
2 fat cloves of garlic, minced
250g arborio rice
175ml white wine
A litre of vegetable stock (make sure you use gluten free stock cubes)
200g frozen peas
150-200g pancetta cubes
100g grated parmesan cheese or grana padano cheese, plus extra to serve
Freshly ground black pepper

Method

Take a large saucepan and add a little olive oil and a knob of butter. Add the diced onion and cook on a low heat until the onion has turned translucent.
While the onion is cooking, cook the grated courgette in a small frying pan until soften, then add the asparagus and cook for a further 2 minutes until it is bright green in colour.
Back to the main large saucepan and time to add the garlic to the pan, still over a low heat, and cook for a couple of minutes.
Next you add the dry arborio rice straight to the pan – give it a good stir so it starts to soak up the buttery garlic juices in the pan.
Turn the heat up to medium and pour in the white wine. Stir the rice until most of the liquid had evaporated.
Now you start to integrate the stock, adding about 100ml at a time and stirring constantly to avoid the risotto sticking to the bottom of the pan. By adding the liquid gradually you will ensure you don’t add too much and end up with a sloppy mess! The rice with quadruple in volume once cooked and if you run out of stock, just add some water until the rice is nice and soft (or al dente if you prefer it the Italian way).
Once cooked, stir in the cooked courgette and asparagus, as well as the frozen peas and allow everything to cook for a couple of minutes until the peas are cooked through,
To finish, stir in the parmesan cheese and lots of black pepper. Take the risotto off the heat and set aside for a couple of minutes while you cook the pancetta.
Pan fry the pancetta cubes until they are nice and crispy – pour off any excess fat and set them aside on a piece of kitchen paper.
Now serve the gluten free primavera risotto topped with the pancetta crumb and an extra grating of parmesan if you like it cheesy. YUM.