Prawn, pea and lemon risotto
40 min · 34 g protein · 385 cals / serving
A bright, creamy midweek risotto: tender rice stirred slowly in stock and a splash of white wine, loaded with sweet peas and courgette, then finished with juicy prawns, lemon, mint and a little parmesan. Comforting and fresh at the same time.
Ingredients
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 5 g butter
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 stick celery, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 140 g sushi rice, risotto rice, such as arborio or carnaroli
- 100 ml white wine
- 1.1 litres vegetable broth, hot vegetable or chicken stock
- 2 courgettes zucchini, diced
- 300 g cooked frozen green peas
- 2 handfuls baby spinach
- 600 g shrimp, raw peeled king prawns
- 15 g grated parmesan, finely grated
- 1 lemon lemon zest, finely grated
- 1/2 lemon lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- a few sprigs fresh mint, leaves shredded
- a small handful fresh parsley, chopped
Steps
- Heat the oil and butter in a large, wide pan over a medium heat. Cook the onion and celery for 8 minutes until soft but not coloured, then add the garlic for 1 minute.
- Add the rice and stir for 2 minutes until the grains turn translucent at the edges. Pour in the wine and stir until it has almost disappeared.
- Add the hot stock a ladleful at a time, stirring often and waiting until each is mostly absorbed before adding the next; you may not need all of it. After 10 minutes, stir in the courgette with the next ladle of stock.
- After about 18 minutes, when the rice is nearly tender with a little bite in the middle, stir in the peas, spinach and prawns with a final ladle of stock. Cook for 3–4 minutes, stirring, until the prawns are pink all the way through and 145°F.
- Take off the heat and beat in the parmesan, lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper. The risotto should be loose enough to spread slowly on the plate; add a splash of hot water if needed. Cover for 2 minutes, then serve scattered with the mint and parsley.
Good to know
Do I really have to stir?
Often, not constantly. Stirring rubs starch off the rice, which is what makes risotto creamy without cream. Give it a good stir every 30 seconds or so and it will be silky.
Frozen prawns?
Raw frozen prawns are ideal. Defrost them in the fridge, or in a bowl of cold water for 15 minutes, and pat dry. Cooked prawns only need a minute to warm through at the end.
Per
- Calories
- 68
- Protein
- (37%)
- 6 g
- Fat
- (11%)
- 1 g
- Carbohydrates
- (52%)
- 9 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 243 mg
About 35% of the alcohol remains after cooking; the label counts only that.
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 1540 kcal goes into the pot and 2997 g of ingredients comes out as about 2280 g of food: 68 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.