Spears, peas and green beans: the natural victory call!

Late spring heralds the arrival of some truly spectacular edible delights, specifically the humble British-grown asparagus.  Perhaps testament only to the geekish thrill that locally grown produce evokes within me, or exposing my deep affection for vegetables in general, but for me the asparagus encapsulates everything I love about food...  Bear with me.  First and foremost because it is only at its peak in Britain from late April to May the window of time to appreciate such an incredible green heightens its desirability.  Eating it at this stage, it's at its best.  Secondly, its flavour is pretty unique.  But the way it just erupts straight up out of the ground, one stem at a time, declaring its arrival with all the deportment of royalty.  That is just magnificent. Google it if you don't believe me! Anyway, enough ruminating about the greater merits of vegetables - exam season would appear to have rather overcooked my imagination... In light of my new found freedom I made this spring vegetable risotto with a group of mates as my victory cry!  Simple and stunning to look at and devour, this is a proper belter.  Especially if you are looking to impress!

The finished article...

Speartastic Spring vegetable risotto (serves 4)


Asparagus spears (about 3 per person), woody ends broken off, stems finely sliced but spear tops reserved
A handful of fine green beans, trimmed and cut into 4cm pieces
Two handfuls of frozen peas (if you have fresh ones - amazing!)
4 garlic cloves, finely diced
1 glass of white wine
1 litre of chicken stock (vegetable stock works fine too)
Arborio risotto rice,  4 handfuls (1 per person) and then 1 extra handful for luck.
A small handful of fresh basil, roughly chopped
30g grated cheddar
A small knob of butter
Some grated parmesan for serving
Salt and Pepper to taste.
A good lug of olive oil to get things started...


1)  Sweat off the garlic in a heavy bottomed saucepan, on a medium heat for a minute or two until it begins to soften and then add the rice.  Stir constantly so it doesn't burn, and fry it off for a couple of minutes until it begins to look slightly translucent.  At this stage add the glass of wine.  It will hiss at you as the liquid hits the pan, stir constantly.  Turn the heat to a gentle simmer.
2)  As soon as the harsh alcoholic smell has dissipated and the rice has soaked up the wine, add your first ladle full of stock.  The key with risotto is to add the liquid gradually letting each new addition of stock be absorbed before adding the next, and continuous stirring.  By keeping the risotto rice moving you are massaging the starch out of the grains and it is the high starch content which gives risotto the creamy, unctuous consistency.
3)  Repeat this process until the rice is tender to eat but holds its shape, in fancy wording - until it's al dente.  It should take between 15-20 mins to reach this point.
4)  While the risotto is forming, in a separate saucepan bring some slightly salted water to the boil.  As soon as the rice is tender, take it off the heat, add the butter and cheddar and cover with a lid.  While the rice is resting, firstly add the frozen peas to the pan of water, they go in at minute 5 (it's an imperfect count down 5-3-2-1).  Then at minute 3 add the green beans. At 2 minutes the asparagus spears and finally with 1 minute to go the sliced asparagus discs. Then after a minute all the veg should be cooked through.  Drain the greens and rinse immediately with cold water - this helps to preserve the vibrant green colour.
5)  Once drained, remove the asparagus spears and set aside for serving.  Fold the remaining veg into the risotto mixture and also add the chopped basil. Taste and season with salt and pepper as required.
6)  Spoon the risotto out into serving dishes, top with the spears and finish with a scattering of grated parmesan.

Risotto is so easily adaptable, so get searching for recipe inspiration and create your own! I get my basic method from Jamie Oliver and it's worked for years.  Love it!