Hearts of palm risotto

My dear friend came to Brazil last month and we had lunch together – it was wonderful!

We ended up ordering the same dish and just noticed that when the waiter brought our food. :D
It was a heart of palm and snow pea risotto. It was delicious and I tried to recreate a similar recipe at home.

I chose not to use the snow peas and focused on the heart of palm – I cook with it often and have posted one snack recipe with it.

I liked the result and decided to share it with you.

UPDATE: Lydia asked my about canned hearts of palm - for this risotto, it's important that the hearts of palm are soft, because they're not cooked for long with the rice. I think they would work fine, Lydia! Just make sure you soak them in water if they're too salty.

Hearts of palm risotto

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ small onion, chopped
140g Arborio rice
60ml dry white wine
700ml vegetable stock
2-3 hearts of palm, sliced
20g Parmesan cheese, grated
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon cold butter
salt and pepper – I used only salt

Bring stock to a boil in a medium saucepan.
In a large pan, heat olive oil and butter over high heat. Add the onion and cook until it’s transparent.
Pour in the rice and stir for 1 minute; add the wine and stir until it's absorbed.
Add the stock - 1 ladleful at a time - and stir constantly until it's absorbed. Repeat this step until the rice is al dente.
One minute before it’s ready, add the hearts of palm and mix well.
Remove from heat, add butter, parsley and cheese and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste, if desired.
Serve immediately.

Serves 2.