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Watercress and asparagus emmer risotto

• Gurdeep Loyal

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Serves 4

Easy

Prep: 10 mins

Cook: 40 mins

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Emmer is an ancient wholegrain which works well in this creamy risotto with spring greens, pecorino and white wine.

Vegetarian

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Try this recipe for watercress and asparagus emmer risotto, then try our spring risotto, tomato risotto and leek risotto. Then, discover more risotto recipes.

Watercress and asparagus emmer risotto recipe

Ingredients

Nutrition

• 200g asparagus

• 200g watercress

• 1.25l hot vegetable stock

• 250ml dry white wine

• 50g butter

• 1 tbsp olive oil

  plus extra for brushing

• 1 large onion

  finely diced

• 2 celery sticks

  finely diced

• 1 large carrot

  finely diced

• 4 fat garlic cloves

  crushed

• 2 tsp fennel seeds

  crushed

• 325g emmer

• 75g pecorino (or vegetarian alternative)

  grated

• 1 lemon

  zested and juiced

Nutrition: per serving

• kcal584
• fat31.5g
• saturates14.1g
• carbs47.4g
• sugars8.8g
• fibre4.6g
• protein25.3g
• salt1.7g

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Method

• step 1

  Trim the asparagus spears, and put the woody ends in a pan with the watercress and stock. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 mins or until the stems are tender. Cool for 10 mins, then blend until smooth. Pour back into the pan and add the wine.

• step 2

  Melt 30g of the butter in a large, deep pan along with the oil, then add the onion, celery, carrot and garlic. Fry for 10-12 mins or until a lot of the liquid has evaporated and the onion starts take on a little colour.

• step 3

  Next, add the fennel seeds and emmer, mix well and cook for 3 mins until lightly toasted. With the hob over a medium-high heat, gradually add cups of the stock, stirring slowly the whole time – only adding more stock when the previous cup has been absorbed. This will take 25-30 mins, at the end of which it will be creamy green with the emmer al dente.

• step 4

  Add the pecorino and the remaining 20g of butter, and cook for a final 5 mins to thicken. Meanwhile, brush the asparagus stalks with a little oil and grill under a high heat for 5 mins until charred and tender.

• step 5

  To finish, stir 1 tsp of lemon zest and 2 tbsp of juice into the risotto, divide between plates, top with the charred asparagus and finish with a grating of pecorino.

Now try more asparagus recipes.

Authors

Gurdeep Loyal

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