White risotto with wild flowers

Serves

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140g/5oz Italian risotto rice

1 tablespoon finely chopped onion

1 tablespoon butter

50ml/2fl oz white wine

500ml/1 pint vegetable stock, simmering in a pan

Salt and pepper

Tuscan olive oil

2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan

Flowers: rose petals, delphinium, wild geranium, South African daisy, verbena, sage flowers, silver artemisia, wild fennel fronds

In a steep-sided pan, heat the oil and cook the onion gently until soft (about 10 to 15 minutes). Add half the butter and the rice. Stir over heat for three to five minutes until nutty but not burnt.

Add the wine, raise the heat and cook until it evaporates. Add the stock, one ladleful at a time, cooking until it is absorbed, keeping the rice covered at all times. After 15 minutes it should all be absorbed and the rice chewy, not soft.

Remove from heat, rest for one minute then beat in the remaining butter and all the cheese until fluffy. It should be runny. If necessary, add a little more stock to make it moist. Decorate with available flowers.