Frozen spring vegetable risotto: A 'seriously flavorful' new recipe

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Study: Eat 10 daily servings of fruits and vegetables

New research finds you can significantly reduce your risk of disease if you double the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables a day

It might be time to reconsider using frozen vegetables this spring: A new recipe demonstrates that when frozen vegetables were put to the cooking and taste test, "they passed with flying colors."

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Daniel Holzman and Matt Rodbard, the authors of a new book — "Food IQ: 100 Questions, Answers, and Recipes to Raise Your Cooking Smarts" (Harper Wave/HarperCollins) — share this and many other worthy recipes and food insights. 

When choosing frozen vegetables for purchase, do make sure to look closely at food labels — and "choose the product[s] with less salt, sugar and trans fat," as registered dietitian Angela L. Lago previously shared with Fox News Digital.  

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Check out this new recipe using frozen vegetables, below, for a delicious and healthy dish — one that's far easier to make than most might think.

Read an excerpt from "Food IQ," featured here with special permission.

Frozen Spring Vegetable Risotto, from ‘Food IQ’

This simple and seriously flavorful recipe was born as an experiment to put frozen vegetables to the test, and they passed with flying colors.

A lovely new frozen spring vegetable risotto recipe starts with amazing frozen vegetables — including peas, spinach and asparagus.  (Ed Anderson)

Because the freezing and thawing process breaks down the cell structure of the vegetables, softening them in the process, there's no need to precook the ingredients (as would be the traditional method) before adding them to the rice.

If you haven't cooked with frozen vegetables before, you'll be shocked by their quality.

Even the asparagus (which is notoriously easy to overcook) maintains its vibrant green color and snappy texture.

From the book "Food IQ" comes a delicious frozen vegetable risotto recipe — relatively easy to make.  (Ed Anderson)

Ingredients

4 ½ cups chicken stock (or substitute bouillon)

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ yellow onion, finely chopped

Kosher salt

2 cups Arborio rice

½ cup dry white wine

1 cup frozen snap peas, cut into ½-inch pieces

1 cup frozen English peas

1 cup roughly chopped frozen spinach

1 cup cut-up frozen asparagus, in 1-inch pieces

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves

2 ½ cups freshly grated pecorino Romano cheese

Freshly ground black pepper

(Serves 4 as a main dish or 6 as a side dish)

When you prepare this frozen spring vegetable risotto, don't forget the butter!  (Ed Anderson)

Instructions

1. In a saucepan, bring the stock to a simmer over medium heat, then adjust the heat to keep the stock at a bare simmer.

2. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the onion and 2 teaspoons salt and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent, about 4 minutes.

3. Add the rice and cook, stirring constantly, until coated with oil and lightly toasted, about 4 minutes. Pour in the wine and stir vigorously until the liquid is completely evaporated, about 3 minutes.

4. Add 1 cup of the simmering stock to the rice and continue to cook, stirring vigorously, until the stock is almost completely absorbed, about 4 minutes. Add another cup of stock and continue to cook, stirring gently, until it is almost completely absorbed. Add the snap peas, English peas, spinach, asparagus, and the remaining 2 ½ cups stock and cook, stirring gently, until the stock is absorbed and the rice is fully cooked but still al dente, about 15 minutes.

5. Remove from the heat and gently stir in the butter, parsley, mint, and 2 cups of the cheese. Transfer to a serving platter and garnish with pepper and the remaining ½ cup cheese.

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From the book "Food IQ" by Daniel Holzman and Matt Rodbard. Copyright © 2022 by Daniel Holzman and Matt Rodbard. Published by Harper Wave, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Reprinted by permission.