Sunny Lemon Risotto with Yellow Zucchinis

Hi darlings!

Even if in this particular moment, as I am watching outside the sun is up, we are not exactly enjoying war spring days, as one might expect towards the middle of May. But we did have great weather last weekend that made me dream of summer and its wonders and convinced me to try a new recipe that I will share with you today. The most summerish dish you have ever tried (and one of the best if you ask me): a sunny lemon and yellow zucchini, creamy and wonderful risotto.

I found pretty looking yellow zucchinis at the supermarket on Saturday and, mesmerized by the sun concentrated in their color I could not resist them. And the only thing I could think about was to include them in a risotto or pasta dish. So I decided to go for a risotto, as I am again watching more carefully what I am eating.

INGREDIENTS: (for 2 people)

• 1 medium sized yellow zucchini (of course you can use the green variety, the taste was the same – or I, as a non-specialist could not perceive the difference)
• 1 cup of rice
• 3 cups of vegetable / chicken stock
• 1/2 cup of white wine (I used prosecco as I had an open bottle and it worked wonders)
• 1 medium sized onion
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• Zest and juice from one lemon
• Butter
• Parmesan cheese (grated, altough it’s a lot better when you grate it yourself)
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Optional: parsley

METHOD:

1. Finely chop the onion / shallot and smash the garlic cloves. Heat a knob of butter and a little olive oil in a pan and add the onion and garlic and fry until soft. Add some salt as it will speed up the process. In the meanwhile zest the lemon and squeeze the juice.
2. Once the onion is soft and translucent add the rice and fry it for 1-2 minutes. Add the wine and let it simmer until the liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the lemon zest and juice and a ladle of stock and let it simmer until absorbed. Repeat the process as many times as necessary.
4. When the rice is half cooked (when you reach about half of the stock) add the chopped zucchinis – I wanted them to stay crunchier, but if you wish them well cooked you can add them from the beginning with the first ladle of stock.
5. Once the rice is cooked to your desired softness set aside and add Parmesan and a few cubes of butter. Let it rest for 3-4 minutes and then mix it and add some roughly chopped parsley (I forgot to buy it, but I really missed it).
6. Served with chilled white wine (I recommend a wider-bodied and more velvety variety to compliment the lemony taste of the risotto – I had a Chardonnay and it was great)

I hope you you will enjoy it! Let me know if you try it 🙂

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