Minted Lamb & Pea Risotto

Ingredients

• 500 g lamb mince
• salt and black pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1.2 litre lamb or chicken stock, hot
• 300 g arborio rice
• 200 g frozen peas
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 150 ml dry white wine
• 25 g butter
• 50 g parmesan, grated
• 15 g fresh mint, finely chopped
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1 small ciabatta

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a large, wide pan over high heat. Season the lamb mince generously with salt and pepper before it hits the pan, then add it in two batches. Use two batches if necessary. A packed pan cools down, fills with liquid and never browns properly. Cook each batch for 8–10 minutes, breaking it up with a spoon, until deeply browned with proper crust and the fat has rendered. Lift out with a slotted spoon, leaving the brown stuck bits in the pan.
2. Reduce the heat to medium. If the pan is swimming in fat, pour some off, leaving about a tablespoon behind. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until soft and translucent, scraping the fond up as it softens. Keep the garlic moving for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
3. Tip in the arborio and toast for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the grains look glassy at the edges and smell faintly nutty. This is important; toasted rice holds its bite; untoasted rice goes to mush.
4. Pour in the white wine and stir until it has been absorbed and the sharp alcohol smell has cooked off, about 1 minute. Begin adding the hot stock one ladleful at a time, stirring frequently and waiting until each addition has almost disappeared before adding the next. Keep going for 20–22 minutes, until the rice is creamy and just al dente at the centre; bite a grain, you want a tiny chalky core, no more.
5. Stir in the frozen peas and the browned lamb. Cook for 3 minutes, until the peas are bright green and tender and the lamb is heated through.
6. Pull the pan off the heat. Beat in the butter and parmesan until glossy, then fold through the chopped mint, the lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice; the acid lifts the richness and stops the dish feeling heavy. Taste. Rest, lid on, for 2 minutes; the risotto should slump softly when you shake the pan, what the Italians call all'onda; the wave.
7. Spoon the risotto into warm shallow bowls. Scatter over extra parmesan and torn mint leaves, finish with a heavy crack of black pepper, and serve with crusty ciabatta alongside for mopping.