This Pea & Pesto Risotto is spring in a bowl! This creamy risotto is made with sweet green peas tons of Parmesan cheese to add a wonderful creaminess. The risotto is topped with fresh pesto, pea shoots, and a fried poached egg for extra decadence. Read on down below to see how to make this perfect spring recipe!
This recipe was created in collaboration with Town Hall Brands and Evolve Cellars and features Evolve’s White Effervescence Wine.
A No-Fuss Risotto Recipe
Contrary to popular belief, risotto is a really simple recipe to make. A basic risotto recipe only uses a few basic ingredients: arborio rice, some aromatics (like garlic or onion), broth of your choice, wine of your choice, and some cheese, butter or oil to bring everything together. You can add in any vegetables you like to risotto to create an infinite range of recipes as well!
For this recipe, I was inspired by the flavours of spring. I used sweet green peas and and my main ingredient, and enhanced their flavour with a Evolve’s White Effervescence Wine, homemade basil pesto, TONS of Parmesan cheese, and fresh pea shoots. The result was this incredible and flavourful Pea and Pesto Risotto.
Cooking with Sparkling Wine
Many people are hesitant to cook with sparkling wine as it’s normally used for drinking on its own for celebratory events. However, if you enjoy the flavour of the sparkling wine, there is no reason to not cook with it! The carbon dioxide bubbles simply evaporate out once the wine is cooked and you are left with the delicious flavour of the wine in your recipe.
This Pea and Pesto Risotto with Fried Poached Eggs pairs perfectly with Evolve’s White Effervescence Wine. It is a sparkling wine from the Okanagan Valley and is BC VQA certified. This delicious wine is a blended wine of 70% Pinot Blanc and 30% Chardonnay and has savoury bready notes and a touch of sweetness. It receives its fun sparkling bubbles from the Charmant method, where the wine is fermented in pressurized stainless steel tanks for a few weeks prior to being bottled. I particularly enjoy wines with a more savoury note and the carbonation in this wine just makes it extra fancy!
You can purchase Evolve’s White Effervescence Wine online for $21.99. Alternatively, if you are on Vancouver Island, you can buy it in-person at the Save On Foods in Sidney and Parksville.
The Most Decadent Egg Topping…Ever!
If a poached egg isn’t fancy enough, try making a Fried Poached Egg! It is a bit of a delicate process, but the results are so worth it!
Here are my tips for making that perfect Fried Poached Egg with a creamy and runny yolk:
- Poach the eggs individually in simmering water for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the poached eggs to a bowl of ice water to fully stop the cooking
- Carefully bread the poached eggs in flour, beaten egg and panko breadcrumbs (in that order) and try to scoop the ingredients over the eggs to minimize the risk of yolk breakage!
- Fry the breaded eggs in hot oil for 30 second to 1 minute, or until golden brown
- Drain on a dry paper towel to remove any excess oil
I hope that you enjoy this recipe this spring! Let me know in the comments below if you’re more excited for the risotto, the wine, or the fried poached egg!
Pea & Pesto Risotto with Fried Poached Eggs
Ingredients
For the Risotto:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup leeks thinly sliced, white parts only
- 1 cup arborio rice
- ½ cup Evolve Effervescence
- 4 cups chicken broth or substitute with vegetable broth
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese finely grated
- 1 teaspoon salt to taste
- 1 cup green peas thawed
- ½ cup pea microgreens for garnish
For the Pesto:
- 1 clove garlic whole
- ¼ cup almonds whole
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves stems removed
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup water
- 1 teaspoon salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
For the Fried Poached Eggs:
- 6 cups water for boiling
- 4 eggs
- 3 cups ice water for chilling poached eggs
- ½ cup flour
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 ½ cups panko breadcrumbs
- 3 cups vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
For the Pesto:
- Begin by making the pesto. Add the garlic and almonds to a food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped. Add the Parmesan cheese, basil leaves, olive oil, water, salt and pepper to the food processor and puree until a smooth paste forms. Remove the pesto from the food processor and set aside in a small bowl for later use.
For the Risotto:
- Next make the risotto. Add the vegetable broth to a small pot and bring to a simmer. Once the broth is simmering, reduce the heat to low and set aside.
- Preheat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil to the pan, followed by the leeks. Fry for 2 minutes until softened, and then add the arborio rice. Toast the rice for 2-3 minutes, stirring often, until the rice begins to turn translucent around the edges.
- Add wine to the pan, followed by ½ cup of the warmed broth. Reduce the heat to medium and stir the rice until the wine and broth have been absorbed into the rice. Continue to add the broth to the pan ½ cup at a time until it has been absorbed into the rice, making sure to stir occasionally.
- Once all the broth has been absorbed and the rice is tender, add the Parmesan cheese, salt, green peas, and 3 tablespoons of pesto to the pan. Stir until combined and set aside on low heat.
- Serve the risotto topped with pea shoots and fresh basil for garnish or top with a fried poached egg (instructions below).
For the Fried Poached Eggs:
- To make the poached eggs, bring a small pot of water to a simmer. Use a spoon to stir the water to create a whirlpool in center of the pot, then crack the egg into the center of the whirlpool. Poach the egg for 2 ½ minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the egg from the water and place it into a bowl of ice water to cool down. Repeat for the remaining eggs.
- Once cooled, remove the eggs from the ice water. Pat with a paper towel to remove excess moisture.
- Next bread the eggs by coating the eggs with flour, then the beaten egg, and finally the panko breadcrumbs. Repeat for all the eggs and set aside until you are ready to fry them.
- Heat another small pot with the vegetable oil to 350 degrees F. Once hot, add the eggs, one at a time, to the hot oil and fry for 30 second to 1 minute, or until they are a light golden brown. Use a slotted spoon to remove the egg from the oil and drain on a paper towel. Repeat for the rest of the breaded eggs.
- Add the fried poach egg on top of the risotto and garnish with extra pesto and pea shoots. Enjoy!
