Ingredients
- 200g each of French beans, broad beans, artichokes and asparagus (800g vegetables in total)
- 750ml chicken stock
- 100g butter
- 20ml olive oil
- 4 spring onions, sliced
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 200g Arborio rice
- Small bunch of herbs (parsley, mint, tarragon) very finely chopped
- 100g Parmesan cheese, finely grated, plus extra to serve
Method
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.