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1
Bring a saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil and set up a bowl of ice water.
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2
Add the peas to the saucepan and cook until tender, 1 to 2 minutes.
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3
Drain the peas and immediately plunge them into the ice water.
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4
Drain the peas again.
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5
Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the peas.
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6
Puree the remaining 1/2 cup of peas in a blender with about 1/3 cup or slightly more cold water until very smooth.
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7
Set the pea puree and the whole peas aside.
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8
Put the chicken stock in a saucepan and bring it to a simmer.
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9
Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat in a large saute pan.
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10
Add the shallot and saute for a few minutes, until translucent.
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11
Add the garlic and saute for another minute, until aromatic.
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12
Add the rice and stir until the grains of rice are coated with butter.
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13
Add the wine and simmer, stirring, until most of the wine is absorbed.
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14
Start adding the simmering chicken stock, about 1 cup at a time, adding more chicken stock only once the rice has absorbed almost all of the stock already in the pan.
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15
Keep stirring the risotto frequently.
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16
Continue adding the stock in smaller amounts as the rice comes closer to being cooked.
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17
You may not need all the stock.
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18
After 20 to 25 minutes of this process, the rice should be cooked to the al dente stage.
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19
Taste a piece of rice to see if the grain is tender and edible with just a little bit of a bite in the center.
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20
When the rice is al dente, remove the risotto from the heat and stir in the remaining 3 tablespoons butter and the Parmesan.
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21
Add a little more of the simmering stock, about 1/4 to 1/2 cup, to loosen the risotto and make it soupy and creamy in consistency.
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22
Add the fresh herbs, the reserved whole peas, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
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23
Ladle the risotto into 6 large shallow soup bowls or onto a large platter.
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24
Use a spoon to drizzle the pea puree decoratively over the risotto.
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25
Pass more grated Parmesan at the table.
