Pistacchio and Herb Risotto

I've used chopped pistacchios with rice before but what gave me the idea for this risotto was a small bottle of pistacchio oil we bought a while ago but hadn't actually tried.

(Serves 2)

200 g arborio rice
1 banana shallot
1 garlic clove
1/2 celery stick
150 ml dry white wine
1 l vegetable stock (mine was homemade without salt)
extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt
40 g parmesan, plus some extra for serving
10 g butter
2 small handfuls of shelled, roasted and salted pistacchios
2 handfuls of freshly chopped herbs (mine was a mixture of flat leaf parsley, basil and Dill)
pistacchio oil to serve

1. Make the stock and keep hot on a low heat. Grate the parmesan. Shell and coarsely chop the pistacchios.

2. Finley chop the onion, garlic and sellerie. Sauté in olive oil for approx. 5 minutes.

3. Add the rice and sauté for 2-3 minutes while stirring continuously until the rice becomes slightly transparent. Now, add the wine. Stir over a medium heat until the wine has been absorbed, season with salt, then add the first ladle of stock. Keep stirring until the liquid has been absorbed. Keep repeating this until the rice is al dente. This takes 15-20 minutes.

5. Remove the risotto from the heat, season with pepper. Stir in the parmesan and butter. Cover and leave to rest for about 2 minutes. Mix in the chopped herbs and pistacchios keeping a tablespoon back to sprinkle over the plate before serving. Check the seasoning. Transfer to plates, sprinkle with the remaining pistacchios, drizzle with a little pistacchio oil and optionally add some freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately.