risotto alla crema di piselli, mozzarella e limone

Fresh peas from the farmer's market that ended up in the freezer, waiting for a purpose. Nope. Trader Joe's has these fresh peas that look like they came from a farmer's market. But in either case leading to an internet search in Italian to get more authentic results for a risotto we have never tried. This one seemed convincing, from the Silver Spoon site. Good enough for bob. Did we use mozzarella pearls? Or manually cube some mozzarella? Whatever. We need to eat more peas.And bob thought mushrooms had a natural affinity for this dish, so he picked up some recipe ready white mushrooms. A good choice.

A knob must be British English for a dab or dollop? No, it is an actual imprecise measurement we have never heard of. Maybe we started with sauteeing a chopped onion? Nope, it was a big shallot. (Read bob.) We are getting really deficient at recording what we do. Reading carefully was already a casualty of the information overload of the present electronic age.

ingredients

320 g of Carnaroli rice (1.6 c)

250 g of fresh peas already cleaned (9 oz)

8 oz fresh mushrooms(bob option)

150 g of mozzarella cut into cubes (5-6 oz)

1 shallot

vegetable broth as needed (1 cube plus boiling water)

2 knobs (2-4 T) of butter

2T extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1/2 glass of white wine

1/4 - 1/2 c fresh basil, chopped

salt to taste

black pepper to taste

optional generous parmigiano (hard to resist) 

instructions

1.  Do the usual risotto thing. We've been through this a thousand times.
2. "The usual risotto thing."
3. To summarize, saute the shallot

notes

1.  Silver spoon in Italian:  Cucchiaio d'Argento: risotto with cream of peas, mozzarella and lemon recipe.
2. Google: A "knob of butter" is an old-fashioned, imprecise term for a small lump or chunk of butter, typically around 1 to 2 tablespoons (about 14-30 grams), depending on context, often just enough to coat a pan or finish a dish. It's a subjective amount, usually meaning a generous spoonful or a small, rounded piece, more than a "pat" but less than a large chunk, relying on feel rather than exact measurement.
3. Illustrations available.