Contributed by Denise Fernie

Ingredients

500g fresh asparagus
3 eggs, hard boiled
1 tbsp red-wine vinegar
¼ tsp salt (or to taste)
2 tsp golden shallots, finely diced
1 tsp Dijon mustard
60ml extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 tbsp capers, drained and coarsely chopped
¼ cup coarsely chopped flat leaf parsley
black pepper freshly ground
100g Parmesan cheese, finely grated, plus extra to serve

Method

Steam asparagus for 4 to 5 minutes, then run under cold water briefly to refresh. Drain.

To hard boil eggs, place them in a small saucepan of water and bring to the boil. Set the timer for 5 minutes from the moment it comes to a gentle boil. Once cooked, cool the eggs in some ice water, to cool down quickly.

In a small bowl, mix together the vinegar, salt and shallots. Leave to stand for a few minutes and then add mustard and olive oil, and combine well.

Peel and dice the eggs. Add eggs, capers and parsley to the dressing, and stir gently to combine.

Lay asparagus on a serving plate, and pour the dressing over. Finish with a drizzle more olive oil, maybe a squeeze of lemon, and some freshly ground black pepper.

Prepare the vegetables: top and tail the French beans and cut into 2cm lengths. Shell the broad beans. Discard the tough leaves from the artichokes and finely slice the remainder. Remove and discard the tough parts of the asparagus stalks and then chop into 2cm lengths. Blanch each vegetable separately in lightly salted boiling water.

Pour the stock into a saucepan and heat it to boiling point. Meanwhile, heat 25g of butter with olive oil in a large sauté pan, add the spring onions and garlic and cook slowly without browning, 2 – 3 minutes. Add the risotto rice and cook it gently for a couple of minutes until it is well coated in the butter and oil.

Add two ladlefuls of boiling stock and stir, allowing it to be absorbed. Gradually add more stock as needed, stirring from time to time, allowing the rice to bubble and absorb the stock. Add the vegetables and herbs with the last amount of stock.

When the last of the stock has absorbed, gently mix through the remaining butter and the Parmesan cheese.

Serve with more grated Parmesan and fresh ground black pepper