Broad beans

We had our first proper harvest at the weekend. Three types of beans: French, runner and broad. Not a huge amount of any variety, but enough to cook ourselves a three-bean risotto for dinner.

Our totals for each crop, which have matured quickly in the last week, were:

When the broad beans had been shelled, the French beans sliced and the runner beans stripped, this was perfect for a two-person meal, which we’ll call:

Nik and Rich’s three-bean risotto

Ingredients
220g of beans of your choice
250g of risotto rice
1 glass white wine
1 litre vegetable stock
1 red onion
Quarter of a lemon
Grated parmesan or other hard Italian cheese
1 tablespoon of olive oil

Method
Prepare your beans as appropriate, slicing any that are eaten in their pods (such as French and runner) and shelling any that are eaten as seeds (such as broad beans). Blanch these by throwing them into a pan of boiling water for three minutes, then drain into a colander, and put to one side.

Mix up a litre of vegetable stock and put to one side, then heat a tablespoon of olive oil or other cooking oil in a heavy-bottomed pan. Use this to soften a finely-diced red onion. You’re not looking to brown it here - just to make it soft. Keep it moving so that you don’t burn it, and once it has softened pour in 250g of arborio or caranoli risotto rice and stir, watching carefully for the point at which its outer husk starts to go slightly translucent. Once it does, pour in a glass of white wine and keep stirring until the wine has evaporated.

Now add your stock, one ladleful at a time, stirring all the time. Only add your next ladle once the current one has been soaked up by the rice. Expect to spend around 20 minutes stirring to absorb all of the stock; the longer you stir, the more you disrupt the husks of the rice, and the more gloopy your finished risotto will be.

Once all of the stock has been used, test the rice to ensure it is cooked (there should be no crunch when you bite into it). If it is not ready, add some more stock and continue stirring until it is done. If it is ready, stir in your blanched beans and a good measure of grated parmesan. Squeeze in the juice of a quarter of a lemon to give it a little bite.

Serve, eat and enjoy with crusty bread or a green home-grown salad.

Nik and Rich’s three-bean risotto

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risotto, recipe, cooking