Risi e Bisi is a traditional Venetian risotto dish made with early summer peas. I find that frozen ‘petit pois’ do the trick just as well if you want to make this out of season.

Ingredients - serves 2-4

1 onion, peeled and chopped 75g unsalted butter 100g small peas 250g arborio rice 900ml - 1ltre good vegetable stock or bouillon small glass of dry white wine 50g freshly grated Parmesan cheese salt, pepper generous handful of mixed, chopped parsley/chervil/basil/chives

Method

Melt the butter in a sauté pan and add the chopped onion, cook over a low heat until softened and translucent. Add the risotto rice and stir until coated with butter and season with salt and pepper.

Turn up the heat to medium and pour in the glass of wine, cook until it has been absorbed by the rice then add half of the stock, stir, lower the heat and cook again until the liquid has almost all been absorbed. Now add the peas and stir them in then add more stock and continue to simmer. Feed the rice like this until it is suitably tender (a case of personal preference really, I like my risotto unctuous and sticky, others like it to have ‘bite'; likewise you may want your risotto to stand on the plate or you may prefer it to be soupy - the way to eat risotto is as you like it). When you feel that the rice is almost cooked to your liking, add the the Parmesan and fold in to the rice together with all the tender herbs. Add more stock if you need to and taste - adjust seasoning if necessary.