Zesty Pea, Ham and Parmesan Dutch Oven Risotto

This comforting recipe has got to be the quickest way to cook risotto. All you need is your Dutch oven and a handful of ingredients and you can have this zesty pea, ham and Parmesan Dutch oven risotto on the table in less than 30 minutes!!

A few weeks ago Jason shared a post with you guys on how to cook THIS RISOTTO like a pro, using his low and slow approach. And although I love his technique for producing the creamiest risotto ever, I myself do not have the patience to stand over a pot and slowly create his style of risotto. Patience is definitely one of my flaws.
So today I share with you my ‘cheats’ quick and easy way to cook risotto. Which isn't quite as creamy as Jason's risotto, but just as insanely delicious.

Although slightly embarrassing to admit, there once was a time when the kitchen was my number one enemy. My problem was pretty simple, it all came down to the fact that back then, I was horribly impatience. When it came to cooking anything, I would put the stove or oven on to the highest temperature possible, cause in my mind that meant it would cook faster. Right?
Wrong! Of course this always ending with me being super frustrated, yelling and screaming as pots boiled over and things burnt to a crisp in the oven etc, etc...
Not a fun person to be around. And the food was definitely nowhere near being close to anything that I would call edible.
Thank god I met Jason. He taught me the importance of being patient in the kitchen and how cooking on high temperatures would never actually cook something faster. So thankfully with his time and patience I have become a much calmer cook. But in saying that, if there is ever a quicker way to cook something properly I will pick that method ever time.

You guys are going to love how quick and easy this zesty pea, ham and Parmesan Dutch oven risotto is to make. All you have to do is heat the stock, water and white wine in your Dutch oven on the stove top. Once hot add the arborio rice, stir and then place into the oven. At this point you can walk away, grab your iPad, maybe pin some stuff on Pinterest, scroll through Facebook or Instagram. Whatever you like really, for say around 17-20 minutes.
Then pull the Dutch oven out of the oven, season with some salt and pepper and stir through the ham, Parmesan, lemon zest, butter and the frozen peas.
Yes, frozen peas. These little bad boys don't even need to get defrosted or pre cooked. The heat from the risotto will do that for you. I mean how easy is that?

I chose the ingredients for this risotto cause they are fuss free and don't require any extra cooking. Like I mentioned before the peas go in frozen. The ham gets simply ripped up. The hardest part is grating the Parmesan and zesting the lemon.
This classic combination of flavors keeps this zesty pea, ham and Parmesan Dutch oven risotto light and fresh. Especially with the addition of the lemon zest.

This flavorsome dish is naturally gluten free and could be easily made dairy free by leaving out the butter and Parmesan. Or made into a vegetarian dish by swapping the chicken stock for vegetable stock and substituting the ham for another easy veg, like corn or carrot.
It can be eaten all year round, I'm picturing spring time on the deck with a cheeky glass of white wine. And is perfect for lunch or dinner.
But whenever or however you decide to make this, I hope you love the simplicity of it as much as I do. And let me know how you guys go, by leaving a comment below.

Enjoy.