Green Bean Risotto

Has your garden given you lots of lovely veg this year?
Risotto is one of those dishes that is infinitely flexible; green beans have been added here, but the choice of vegetable is very much up to you.
Ingredients
- 2tbsp Olive Oil
- 150g Fennel, chopped
- 225g Risotto Rice
- 1.2 -1.3 litres Vegetable Stock
- 200ml Dry White Wine
Seasoning
- 115g French Beans, halved
- 50g Mangetout, halved
- 55g Vegetarian Parmesan Style Hard Cheese, grated, plus extra to serve
Herb Butter Ingredients:
- 70g Butter
- 1 tbsp Fennel Fronds, chopped
- 2 tbsp Chives, fresh, chopped
- 2 Garlic Cloves, chopped finely
- 1/4 tsp Black Peppercorns, roughly crushed
Method
- First, make the herb butter: Beat all the ingredients together, spoon onto a piece of greaseproof paper, shape into a roll and chill in the fridge.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the fennel and fry for 5 mins until softened and only just beginning to colour.
- Add the rice and stir.
- Bring the stock to the boil in a pan.
- Stir the wine and seasoning into the rice then add a ladleful of hot stock.
- Simmer for about 20mins, stirring from time to time and topping up with stock as needed until the rice is tender and nearly all the stock has been absorbed.
- When the rice is almost cooked, about 5 mins from the end, add the beans and then the mangetout.
- Cook for 2 mins and then stir in the hard cheese and one-third of the herb butter, until melted.
- Spoon into shallow bowls and top with slices of herb butter and extra hard cheese.
- Garnish with extra fennel fronds if liked.
This recipe is from Cooking from the Garden, by Sara Lewis.