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Spring Vegetable Risotto

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Photo by Jennifer Causey

This risotto is dotted with beautiful green spring vegetables and makes a lovely vegetarian lunch or dinner. Delicious with a roasted beet and arugula salad, it's simple to make. There is no arduous stirring; the rice cooker takes care of everything.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Serves 4

Ingredients

1

cup medium-grain rice, such as Arborio, Carnaroli, or Vialone

Nonstick cooking spray

4

Tbsp unsalted butter, divided

1

garlic clove, minced

1

leek, tender white part only, finely chopped

1

cup packed baby spinach, finely chopped

1

fennel bulb, wispy ends removed and finely chopped

1

/2 cup dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio, or dry vermouth

2

1/2 cups chicken broth

1

cup shelled fresh fava beans (see Cooks' Note)

1

cup shelled English peas

1

/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Need to make a substitution?

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place the rice in a sieve and rinse under a steady stream of cool water, stirring the grains. When the water runs clear, stop rinsing and shake the sieve to drain off excess water.

    Step 2

    Coat the inside of a medium rice cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Set the rice cooker to the regular cycle or to quick cook if it's a fuzzy-logic machine. Melt 2 Tbsp of the butter; add the garlic, leek, spinach, and fennel; and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the leek is softened. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Add the rice and chicken broth and stir to distribute the ingredients.

    Step 3

    Cover the rice cooker and reset to the regular cycle. Set a timer for 15 minutes. When the timer goes off, stir in the fava beans and peas. Cover and allow to steam for an additional 5 minutes on the keep-warm setting or with the machine turned off. (Many rice cookers, including all fuzzy-logic machines, do this automatically.) Stir in the remaining 2 Tbsp butter and the Parmigiano. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Reprinted from The Everyday Rice Cooker: Soups, Sides, Grains, Mains, and More, by Diane Phillips, copyright © 2015, published by Chronicle Books.