Gordon Ramsay’s pea risotto is bright green, fresh and minty, made with a pea purée stirred through Arborio rice, whole peas folded in at the end, mascarpone, Parmesan and fresh mint, ready in about 30 minutes. Frozen peas work perfectly here because they hold their sweetness better than most fresh ones from the supermarket.
His restaurants serve a pea and mint risotto on the Spoilt for Summer menu, made with coconut oil and a homemade mint oil instead of butter. This home version keeps the same pea purée technique but swaps in butter and Parmesan, which is closer to how he finishes risottos across all his cookbooks.
Pea and mint is one of Ramsay’s favourite pairings and it shows up across seven of his books, from soups and purées to crushed peas on toast. In Bread Street Kitchen he writes that “frozen peas are frozen within hours of being picked, they are considered just as fresh,” so don’t feel like you need to shell anything by hand for this.
Gordon Ramsay Pea Risotto Recipe
Course: Dinners, RisottoCuisine: British, ItalianDifficulty: Easy4
servings5
minutes25
minutes370
kcal30
minutesA bright green spring risotto with a pea purée stirred through the rice and whole peas folded in at the end, finished with mint, mascarpone and Parmesan. Ramsay’s restaurants serve a version of this with mint oil and coconut oil. About £1.95 per person.
Ingredients
300g frozen garden peas
Small handful of fresh mint leaves, plus extra to serve
2 tbsp olive oil
2 banana shallots, finely diced
1 garlic clove, finely sliced
250g Arborio or Carnaroli rice
125ml dry white wine
800ml hot vegetable stock
50g cold unsalted butter, cubed
2 tbsp mascarpone
50g Parmesan, finely grated
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
- Make the pea purée: Blanch 200g of the peas in boiling salted water with a few mint leaves for 2 minutes. Drain, reserving the cooking water. Blitz the peas and mint with a splash of the cooking water until smooth and bright green. Set aside.
- Build the risotto: Heat olive oil in a wide heavy-based pan over medium heat. Cook the shallots for 2-3 minutes until soft, add the garlic for 30 seconds, then stir in the rice for 1-2 minutes until the edges go translucent.
- Deglaze: Pour in the wine and stir until fully absorbed.
- Ladle the stock: Add hot stock one ladle at a time, stirring and waiting until each is absorbed before adding the next. Keep going for 16-18 minutes until the rice is al dente.
- Finish: Pull the pan off the heat. Stir through the pea purée so the rice turns bright green. Beat in the cold butter, mascarpone and Parmesan until glossy. Fold in the remaining 100g of whole peas and a few torn mint leaves. Season and serve straight away.
FAQs
Why blend some peas and keep others whole?
The purée is what turns the rice green and carries the pea flavour into every grain. Without it you’d just have white risotto with peas sitting on top. The whole peas folded in at the end give you bursts of sweetness and texture when you bite into them.
This two-texture approach comes from the BSK pea purée recipe, where Ramsay blitzes peas with spinach, mint and butter for a lamb dish. His restaurant version does the same thing: 40g peas blitzed into a purée, the rest kept whole.
Can I use fresh peas instead of frozen?
You can if they’re genuinely fresh from a farm shop or garden, but supermarket “fresh” peas have often been sitting around losing their sugar for days. Ramsay makes this point in Bread Street Kitchen: frozen peas are picked and frozen within hours, which locks in more sweetness than most fresh ones you’ll find on a shelf. If you do use fresh, you’ll need about 500g in the pod to get 300g shelled.
What makes the restaurant version different from this one?
The Gordon Ramsay Restaurants version uses coconut oil instead of butter, no Parmesan at all, and finishes with a mint oil made by drying mint leaves at 80°C then infusing them in olive oil for an hour. It’s lighter and more delicate than this home version.
I kept butter, mascarpone and Parmesan because that’s how he finishes every risotto in his cookbooks and it’s what a home kitchen expects. But if you want to try the restaurant approach, swap the butter for coconut oil and skip the cheese. A salmon en croûte makes a great centrepiece alongside either version.
Can I add broad beans for a pea and broad bean risotto?
Yes, and it’s a combination Ramsay uses in Great British Pub Food where he serves “marinated chicken with minted broad beans and peas.” Blanch 100g podded broad beans alongside the peas, slip the skins off the larger ones, and fold them through at the end. The broad beans add a slightly nuttier, more earthy flavour that works well with the mint.
How much does pea risotto cost per serving?
About £7.75 for four servings, so roughly £1.95 per person. Tesco Garden Peas cost £1.65 for a 500g bag and you only need 300g. Mascarpone, Parmesan, rice, wine, stock and a pack of fresh mint fill the rest. One of the cheapest risottos you can make. A a poached salmon fillet on top fillet on top turns it into something worth serving to guests.
Does pea risotto store well?
The rice keeps for two days but the colour fades from bright green to dull khaki overnight, same as the asparagus version. Taste holds up fine though. Reheat gently with a splash of stock and stir in a spoonful of fresh pea purée if you want the colour back. His his chicken pie for a make-ahead option is a better make-ahead option if presentation matters. I’ve compared all 15 of his risotto recipes side by side and this is the brightest green on the list.
