We are just in the beginning of spring, but there are still icy winds blowing gale-force off the snow, interspersed with the occasional calm, sunny, warm days. The winter garden is almost depleted, with just 6 carrots and 3 leeks left from the autumn crops, but we still have plenty of broccoli and spinach, which have become a main greens, while we wait for the newly planted seedings  in their new/old cloches, to start to produce.

Keeping to my philosophy of making-do and living frugally, I use what we have in the garden to make a risotto. Its a bit of a hotchpotch affair this time, but ends up really delicious and it couldn’t be more wholesome and fresh. I raid the garden for whatever there is today. We have spring onions, parsley sage and thyme, as well a sprig of oregano. I pare off a side-shoot of some old celery. These little side-shoots are the most tender part of the plant at the moment, as the main bush is heading for the sky, ready to bolt to seed in the coming warm weather.

There are a couple of new asparagus shoots. The asparagus isn’t doing all that well this spring, as it hasn’t rained properly here for two months and the ground is desiccated by the winter gales, drying everything out. We are having to water everyday now, just as if it were high summer.

I return with my basket of goodies and start to finely chop the celery and older spring onions. While I soak some of our dried mushrooms in hot water, they smell delicious and start to make me salivate while I’m preparing the other vegetables. I go to the trouble of very finely slicing all the veggies, as they are no longer in their prime, going to seed, and getting a bit tough and troublesome, just like me.

Everybody knows how to make a risotto, so I won’t describe the steps in detail, only the variations. I sautéed the onions and celery for quite a while, maybe 15 mins, to soften them through and get them well cooked, adding the fresh herbs halfway through. Next I stir the rice into the oil and get it well coated, but then continue to heat it while stiring until a few of the grains start to ‘pop’. I was told how to do this by an Italian chef. Clearly there are many different ways to make a risotto.

I don’t have any white wine open, but I do have a little red wine left in a bottle from the previous night, so in it goes with the softened mushroom chunks. I don’t have a pot of boiling stock either, but I do have a little jellied chicken stock in the fridge. It all goes in, but needs some extra water to create the needed depth of liquor to lubricate the rice and extract the starches. This needs to be continually stirred with a little more water added as necessary, for another 15 mins.

It all comes together into a very delicious risotto that reflects the season, and in particular, this windy, dry, time of year.