Nima Safaei fell in love with Italian cuisine after his first taste of ossobuco. Though he trained as a pharmacist, in 2009 he changed paths and opened Forty Greek Street, where he’s been cooking seasonal Italian food ever since. He’s since also opened fellow Italian restaurants 64 Old Compton Street and 27 Old Compton Street. His new cookbook, At Home With Nima traces a year in his cooking life, led by the bounty of each month and season, and the possibilities they present to the chef.
In autumn that equals recipes for ham and artichoke in September and a tomato soup in October, while winter makes use of a Christmas panettone by turning it into bread and butter pudding. Spring is about the first shoots of green veg, lighter eating and new lamb – think crab linguine and herb-crusted rack of lamb – and summer’s a riot of peak produce like cacao, cherry and mascarpone cake and this verdant pea and mint risotto.
“Summer is here, and with fresh peas in season, this light and summery risotto is a perfect dish to eat in the warmer weather,” Safaei writes. “For a simple dish like this, use the best quality ingredients you can – you want the freshness of the peas, lemon and mint to really shine through the risotto.”
He suggests pairing it with a glass of white wine – gavi or soave – for lunch in the sunshine, or “as a light supper on a long, lazy evening”.
It can also be easily made vegan: swap the unsalted butter for an extra tablespoon of olive oil, use nutritional yeast instead of parmesan and opt for vegetable stock over chicken.
Nima Safaei’s pea and mint risotto
Serves 2–4
Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 50 minutes
Ingredients
750ml good-quality vegetable or chicken stock
100g fresh young peas, podded (or frozen petit pois)
1 tbsp olive oil
25g unsalted butter
1 onion, finely chopped
200g risotto rice (arborio or carnaroli)
50ml dry white wine
25g butter
50g parmesan
A small handful of mint, washed and finely shredded
Finely grated zest of one unwaxed lemon
Method
Start by heating the stock in a pan until it comes to a gentle simmer. If using fresh peas, add the pods to the stock while bringing it up to a simmer, then discard before adding the stock to the risotto.
Next, blanch the peas in a pan of boiling water for one minute, then drain and rinse in cold water. Set aside.
In a wide, heavy-based pan, warm the oil and half the butter over a medium heat, add the onion and stir regularly until soft and golden.
Add the rice and stir well.
Tip in the wine (if using) and stir until it has all been absorbed.
Next, add a ladle of stock and keep stirring until the rice has soaked it all up. Continue adding stock one ladle at a time, stirring as you pour in constantly.
After about 20 minutes, check to see if the rice is cooked – you want it to be tender, but still a little al dente. If needed, add more stock and continue to cook for another two or three minutes.
Once the rice is ready, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the peas, half the mint, butter and parmesan, then cover and leave to rest for two minutes.
Season to taste and serve, garnishing each bowl with the remaining mint and lemon zest.
At Home With Nima by Nima Safaei is now available via Amazon.
