Ingredients

Method

• About 5 cups hot vegetable or homemade chicken broth
• 150 g trimmed mangetout (or sugar snap peas)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 1/2 cups risotto rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• About 100g drunken pecorino, grated
• 2-3 tablespoons butter for enriching
• Milled salt and black pepper

Method

Ingredients

Bring the broth to a simmer and add the peas. Simmer until tender. Set aside. Heat the butter and oil in a large wide heavy saucepan and gently fry the onion with a pinch salt until soft but not browned.

Add the garlic and rice, stirring constantly, until well coated. Pour in the wine and stir until the rice has absorbed the liquid. Pour in a few ladles of hot broth and do the same.

Repeat, adding more broth until the rice is tender and swollen: creamy, not soggy, chewy not gritty. Probably 4 cups will be enough, but there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to risotto.

Stir in half the grated cheese. Check seasoning. It may not need salt but add a grinding of pepper. Add the remaining butter and cooked peas, cover tightly and leave for a few minutes, then serve immediately.

Top with the pancetta and pass around the rest of the cheese.

To oven-dry pancetta: Place thinly sliced pancetta between sheets of non-stick baking paper. Pound until very thin, then dry (uncovered) in the oven at 100ºC for 3 hours or until crisp.