Serves 2

Ingredients: 2 shallots, 2 garlic cloves, 150g broad beans, 100g peas, 1 courgette, a few stems of mint, 2 stems of basil, 50g bunch of rocket.

From the larder: 2 knobs of butter, 170g Arborio rice, 600-700ml stock, 30g Parmesan, (Optional: grilled fish or chicken, exchange 100ml stock for white wine).

Instructions:

• Peel and chop the shallots and peel and dice the garlic.
• Gently sauté in a knob of butter for 2 minutes or until soft. Add the Arborio rice, cook for a minute or so while you prepare the stock.
• Add the stock ladle-by-ladle to the rice. Stir and cook for a few minutes between each ladle allowing stock to absorb between each one.
  

  Pull the spoon through the risotto and count to 10. If it holds for 10 seconds, it’s time for more stock.

• While risotto is cooking, shell the peas and broad beans, and thinly slice the courgette. If using, grill meat/fish.
• Bring a small pot of water to the boil and boil the broad beans for a 1-2 minutes. Drain and run them under cold water and then pierce the skin of the beans with your finger nail and pop the beans out their skin casing. You can skip this step and put them straight into the risotto if you want to, but the skin casing can be a little bitter.
• When you’ve used just over ¾ of the stock, stir in the broad beans, courgette and peas.
• When risotto is creamy and al denté (soft but still with a little bite), take off the heat, add a knob of butter and cover until butter has melted.
• Mix in grated Parmesan and chopped mint and basil leaves. Serve immediately with rocket on the side.