My Plump, Green Friends
Tuesday 21st August 2007 by Cherry Menlove
 As this is my first recipe on SheerLuxe I thought I’d give you a little intro about how I cook and why. I cook seasonally. If the food isn’t in season, in this country, then I do my best not to use it. I also try to cook locally. This means that I won’t buy green beans if I see that they’ve come all the way from Kenya no matter how tasty they look. I receive a weekly fruit & veg box from Abel & Cole  and I source my meat from nearby areas.
You’ll only be able to try this risotto recipe for a couple more weeks as the broad bean season is about to finish, but trust me, if you do manage to pick some up you’ll be counting the days until they pop up again next June.
Cherry’s Broad Bean & Tarragon Risotto.
Serves four
 Remove the broad beans from their pods (usually sold in batches of 500g) and place into a pan of boiling water. Leave on the boil for a few minutes until you see the outer shells peeling away from the inner bean. Then drain the beans and run the cold tap over them to cool.
When they’re cool enough to handle peel the tougher, outer layer away and place the soft inner beans to one side for later.
Finely chop 1 golden onion and place into a risotto pan with a drizzle of olive oil on a low heat. When the onion has started to soften slightly add 350g of Arborio rice and move it around the pan, letting the oil coat and heat it until the rice becomes translucent.
Begin to ladle in the chicken stock (you’ll need 1.5 pints for this dish) . Add ladle after ladle allowing the low heat and the rice to soak up the stock before adding another. Stir continually, not letting the rice become dry. When all of the stock has been added the rice should be almost soft enough to eat, but do have a quick taste to check for any yucky crunchiness.
Cut a medium bunch of fresh tarragon into small pieces over the risotto pan using kitchen scissors, tip in the shelled broad beans and add a good dose of freshly milled salt and pepper. Stir well.
While the risotto has its final moments on the heat add four small handfuls of breadcrumbs and two handfuls of flaked almonds to a non-stick pan and toast them, dry, on a low heat. While they’re toasting tip 120g of grated parmesan into the risotto, stir well, add the pan lid and remove from heat. The heat in the pan will melt the parmesan for you and thicken your risotto wonderfully.
Serve immediately on warm plates placing a large serving spoon full of risotto onto each plate & sprinkling the top with toasted breadcrumbs and almonds. Finish with a cooling dollop of ricotta.
Mwah!
Cherry Menlove xx
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