2 litres (3.1/2 pints) Chicken Broth (see here)
Maldon salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 kg (2.1/4 lb) fresh young peas (podded weight)
1 kg (2.1/4 lb) washed spinach leaves, tough stems removed
1 bunch fresh mint, tough stalks removed
60 g (2.1/2 oz) unsalted butter
1/2 large red onion, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 head celery, cleaned and finely chopped
100 g (4 oz) pancetta affumicata or smoked streaky bacon, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
300 g (10 oz) carnaroli rice
For six
Heat the chicken broth to a simmer and check for seasoning.
Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil with a good pinch of sea salt, and into this put the peas, spinach and mint. Allow to cook for just a minute or so, until the peas are half cooked, then remove from the water and place half the vegetables in the blender. Pulse-chop in short bursts with a ladle of hot broth. It should be pulsed until quite rough, not to a purée. The remaining vegetables need to be roughly chopped by hand to keep their texture.
In a large, heavy-bottomed pan, heat the butter, add the onion and celery and stir together until they soften and become translucent. Add the pancetta and stir until it begins to soften, then add the garlic and continue to cook on a low heat.
Add the rice and stir to coat with the butter until it starts to become transparent. Start to add the hot broth ladle by ladle, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before you add the next. Stir constantly until the rice is cooked. Add a couple more ladles of broth, as you want a soupy consistency.
Stir in the pulsed vegetables and the roughly chopped vegetables. They need to be brought up to the temperature of the rice before serving.