Parsley, Pea and Green Tea Risotto

This is an adapted version of one of my favorite dishes from what I call my recipe Bible—Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.

This may have been one of the first serious cookbooks I ever owned. Given to me years ago by my great friend and foodie companion, Allison, it’s been my go-to cookbook for nearly anything I’ve ever wanted to learn how to cook.

I think I’ve made every muffin, soup, salad dressing and risotto recipe in this cookbook. Among those, and others, there hasn’t been one recipe I didn’t like. But the book is huge (1400 recipes!) and I’ve hardly made a dent in it, even though it feels like I’ve used it every week for about 10 years. It’s one of those cookbooks that has amazing recipes you want to make over and over. This parsley and pea risotto is one of those for me.

I made just a few adaptations to the recipe, including using a strong-brewed Sencha green tea instead of vegetable stock as the liquid base in which to simmer the rice. I also omitted the optional mascarpone cheese. The Parmesan provides plenty of cheesiness for me, and the tea flavor is very light so I didn’t want to cover it up with anything else. Oh, and I added a dash of truffle salt for garnish. Just because.

Happy cooking and sipping!

 Adapted by Suzanne Klein, Tea Foodie from the Vivid Parsley and Pea Risotto recipe in Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone cookbook.

 Makes 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 large bunch of parsley

6 cups water

4 tablespoons loose leaf Sencha green tea (or your favorite green tea)

2 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup diced white onion

1 ½ cups Arborio rice

½ cup dry white wine

1 ½ cups fresh or frozen peas

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

truffle salt, for garnish

Preparation:

1. Bring 1 ½ cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan, add the parsley and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Then puree the parsley and water mixture in a blender until smooth. Set the parsley sauce aside.

2. Bring the remaining 4 ½ cups of water to a boil, remove from heat and let stand for 1 minute. Pour the boiled water over the tea leaves, cover and steep for 5 minutes. Strain the tea liquid into a medium saucepan and set it over low heat on the stove to keep it hot while you start the rice.

3. Melt the butter in a wide pot. Add the onion and cook over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring frequently, for about 1 minute. Pour in the wine and simmer until it’s absorbed. Add 2 cups of the hot tea liquid, cover, and simmer until it’s absorbed. Add the remaining tea in ½-cup increments, stirring constantly until each addition is absorbed before adding the next. When all the tea liquid has been absorbed, add the parsley sauce, increase the heat, and stir until the sauce has been absorbed. Stir in the peas, season with salt and pepper and remove from heat. Stir in ¾ cup of the cheese, saving the remaining to top each serving. Sprinkle each serving with truffle salt.

Tips:

• Here are some of Deborah Madison’s tips for successful risotto:
  • Keep the stock (or tea in this case) simmering on the stove so it stays hot. This way it won’t cool down the cooking rice each time you add more liquid.
  • Use a wide-bottomed pot so there’s plenty of space for the rice to spread out and quickly absorb each round of liquid.
  • Never rinse the rice or you’ll loose the starch that’s essential to the creamy texture of this dish.
• I think this dish is best enjoyed right when it’s made. If you do end up with leftovers, try making them into risotto cakes. Simply form the dense mass of rice into palm-sized patties and fry them in a bit of canola oil for about 3 to 5 minutes per side. They’re great topped with poached eggs for breakfast! With a side of green tea, of course.