risotto of peas and small broad beans
for 6
2 kg fresh broad beans (podded weight 1 kg)
1 kg fresh young peas (podded weight 500 g)
Maldon salt and freshly ground black pepper
200 g unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1.75 litres chicken stock (see here)
200 g spring onions, chopped
300 g vialone nano rice
100 g Parmesan, freshly grated
Pod the broad beans and the peas. Keep the pea pods. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and add 2 tablespoons salt. Add the pea pods and cook for 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon. Put through a mouli, then add 2–3 tablespoons of the cooking water. Blanch the peas in the boiling salted water, drain and add to the pea-pod pulp. Season and add 25 g of the butter.
Add the broad beans to a clean pan of boiling unsalted water, and cook for 2–4 minutes. Drain and add 25 g of the butter, the parsley and salt and pepper. Put half of this into the food processor and pulse-chop. Return to the whole beans. Heat the stock and check for seasoning.
Melt half the remaining butter in a large, thick-bottomed saucepan. Gently fry the onion until soft and beginning to colour. Add the rice, stir to coat each grain with butter, and cook for 2–3 minutes. When the rice is opaque, start adding the hot stock ladle by ladle, adding the next only when the rice has absorbed the last. Stir continuously. Continue to cook until the rice is al dente, about 15 minutes.
Finally, stir in the peas and their pea-pod liquor and the broad beans. Add the remaining butter, and stir in the Parmesan. Serve immediately.