Summer Risotto with Peas, Broad Beans and Lemon

Ingredients

• 250g fresh broad beans, podded
• 320g risotto rice (Arborio or Carnaroli)
• 200g frozen peas
• 3 shallots, finely diced
• 3 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 150ml dry white wine
• 1.2 litres hot vegetable stock
• 40g unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 60g Parmesan, finely grated, plus extra to serve
• small bunch of fresh mint leaves, torn
• extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle, to serve
• Parmesan, finely grated, to serve
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve
• fresh mint leaves, torn, to serve
• Ciabatta, to serve
• Rocket salad dressed with extra virgin olive oil and a little red wine vinegar, to serve

Method

1. Bring a small pan of water to the boil and salt it well. Drop in the broad beans for 2 minutes until just tender, then drain and refresh under cold water. Slip off the pale outer skins to reveal the bright green beans inside — fiddly, but the texture and colour are worth it. Set aside.
2. Keep the vegetable stock at a bare simmer in a pan alongside you. Cold stock seizes the rice and stalls the cook every time you ladle.
3. Heat the olive oil and half the butter in a wide, heavy-based pan over a medium heat. Add the shallots with a pinch of salt and cook for 5 minutes until soft and translucent but not coloured — you want sweetness, not browning.
4. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, just until fragrant. Don't let it colour past pale gold — burnt garlic turns the whole risotto bitter, and there's no rescuing it.
5. Tip in the rice and toast for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the grains look slightly glassy at the edges and smell faintly nutty. This is the step most home cooks skip — toasted rice holds its bite right to the end.
6. Pour in the white wine and stir for 1–2 minutes until fully absorbed and the sharp alcohol smell has cooked off.
7. Add the hot stock one ladleful at a time, stirring frequently and waiting until each addition is almost absorbed before adding the next. After about 10 minutes, stir in the grated courgette and carry on ladling for a further 8–10 minutes until the rice is creamy and just tender with a slight bite at the centre.
8. Stir in the frozen peas and shredded spinach for the final 3 minutes — the peas turn vivid green as they thaw and the spinach wilts down into the rice. The risotto should ripple, not stand up in peaks.
9. Pull the pan off the heat. Stir in the remaining butter, the Parmesan, lemon zest and the lemon juice — beat it in hard for 30 seconds to bring out the creaminess. Fold through the broad beans. Taste, season with salt and pepper, taste again. Adjust now — at the end, not at the table.
10. Rest the risotto for 1 minute. It should flow like lava when you tilt the pan; loosen with a splash of hot stock if it looks tight.
11. Spoon into warm bowls. Scatter with torn mint, shower with extra Parmesan, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and serve with lemon wedges, warm ciabatta and a dressed rocket salad alongside.