Spring Pea Risotto with Halibut & Spanish Chorizo
Spring Pea Risotto with Halibut and fresh mint. Add Spanish style chorizo for spice and complexity or keep it light and lean.
Ingredients
Cooking Instructions
step 1
Cut Halibut (1 lb) into four 4 oz portions.
step 2
Place in roasting pan lined with parchment paper. Generously drizzle with Olive Oil (2 Tbsp). Make to coat both sides well.
step 3
Sprinkle with Salt (to taste), Ground Black Pepper (to taste), and zest of Lemon (1). Set aside or marinate over night in the fridge.
step 4
Blanch Green Peas (2 cups) in 1 quart boiling salted water with 1 tablespoon salt for 2 minutes. They should float. Strain and immediately immerse in cold water to stop them from over cooking and loosing their color. Set aside.
step 5
In a heavy bottom pot, saute the Leeks (2 1/2 cups) and Butter (1 Tbsp) over medium heat until tender, about 7 minutes.
step 6
Turn heat to low and add Arborio Rice (1 cup) and optional Spanish Chorizo (4 Tbsp). Stir about 1 minute. If you leave out the chorizo, make sure to salt the risotto.
step 7
Add White Wine (1/2 cup). Let simmer on low until the wine has been absorbed.
step 8
Add a cup of hot Chicken Stock (4 cups) and stir periodically, adding a cup at a time, until each cup is absorbed ( about 25-30 minutes).
step 9
Repeat this process until rice is tender but slightly firm (about 20-30 minutes) and mixture is loose.
step 10
While risotto is cooking, make pea puree. Place 1 cup of the blanched peas, Fresh Mint (4 Tbsp), Italian Flat-Leaf Parsley (4 Tbsp), a squeeze of Lemon (1), and a generous pinch of salt and pepper in a food processor and blend till smooth, scrapping down sides a couple times. Set aside.
step 11
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
step 12
When you are about to add your last cup of stock to the risotto, place the fish in the hot oven, and bake 6-8 minutes, depending on how thick of a cut you have.
step 13
When risotto is tender, or cooked to your liking, stir in the Pecorino Romano Cheese (1/3 cup), lemon zest, and remaining 1 cup whole blanched peas.
step 14
Turn heat off. Gently fold in pea puree. Adjust salt. Divide risotto among plates, top with the fish, garnish with optional pea shoots, a drizzle of truffle oil, lemon zest and/or mint.
