Spelt risotto with broad beans, asparagus, feta & mint
This recipe is a really tasty version of a regular risotto but uses pearl spelt which in short, is higher in fibre than Arborio rice, has a lower GI and has a great texture and nutty flavour, making this a delicious dish! Once you’ve bought it for this recipe, it will surely become a store cupboard staple as it’s great for adding into soups, stews and salads.
Ingredients
- 250 g pearl spelt grains
- 1 tbsp of olive oll
- Knob of butter
- 1 medium white onion chopped
- 1 glass of white wine optional
- 500 ml hot chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 bunch asparagus chopped
- fresh broad beans shelled and skinned
- 100 g Greek feta
- 2 sprigs fresh garden mint finely chopped
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Heat a tablespoon of olive oil and a knob of butter in a non-stick deep frying pan.
- Gently cook the onion until soft.
- Add the spelt and cook with the onion for a couple of minutes.
- Add the wine and cook until it has all absorbed.
- Add a ladle of stock and cook until it is all absorbed, stirring regularly.
- Keep adding the stock, ladle by ladle until it is almost gone (this should take about 20-25 minutes).
- When you add the last ladle, add the asparagus as well. Once this last ladle has been absorbed, stir in the feta, broad beans and mint.
- Serve with a green salad.
Notes
TIP: to shell and skin the broad beans, remove the beans for the pods. Steam for 2 minutes. Run under cold water and then gently squeeze the bean from its skin. Alternatively, when they’re not in season, frozen beans can also be used.
