Mixing it up

   I've been trying to think of new ideas for lunches that I can take into work. When you're trying to only eat seasonal, local vegetables you can find yourself eating the same things over and over again. So I've looked back through my recipes and adapted some of them. Here's one of my favourites. The recipe is for Summer Risotto, but you can use pretty much any vegetables as a substitute. I made some this week using pumpkin, butternut squash and mushrooms.

Ingredients
100g (3½oz) asparagus, trimmed
350g (12oz) risotto rice (or short brown rice)
125g (4oz) broad beans
1 small onion, finely diced
1 litre vegetable stock
150ml (¼ pint) dry white wine
½ lemon, juiced (I substitute this with a splash of vinegar as we don't tend to get many lemons growing in South Wales)

Boil the asparagus and beans in water for 3 minutes. Drain and plunge into cold water and then drain again.
Using a little of the vegetable stock, fry the onion until transparent. If you're using mushrooms, add them here as well. Stir in the rice. Add 1 ladle of hot stock and cook until absorbed. Keep the stock simmering on the stove and add it a ladle at a time until absorbed. When most of the stock has been used, add the asparagus and beans, white wine and lemon juice. Simmer for a few more minutes.


The trick with risotto is to add the stock gradually. I once saw a TV cookery competition where a chef did not follow this advice, and his colleagues and customers were not best pleased.