Lemon Balm Risotto - an adventure in recipe building

I have in abundance lemon balm and a big bag of aborio rice. So, I googled "lemon balm risotto" and actually found a bunch of recipes. Here's what I'm thinking mine will be:

lemon balm
thyme
olive oil
garlic
salt
pepper
parmesan

to make a kind of pesto, but one you make without a food processor, since that's how I role...

aborio rice
vegetable broth
peas
smoked paprika
butter

for the risotto part and then combine the two for a yummy, I hope, dish. I will let you know the outcome.