Top of the pods, do yourself a fava

April is the peak season for broad beans ( favas )and peas ( ervilhas ). Although the first pods appear in the markets as early as March, signalling the beginning of spring.One glance at menus will show that risotto made with peas and or broad beans is currently the dish of the season...Gone are the days when the only bean ever to to appear on restaurant plates was the ultra fine french bean,and the only pea, a mangetout.I drew my inspiration for this dish from the River Cafe cook book, Green.What drew me to this particular recipe was the fact that every part of the pea is used.After podding  you save the pods and boil them in salted water and then pass them through a mouli, which results in an astoundingly sweet emerald purée that you stir through the risotto.I enhanced the dish with mint and chives for an added springtime flavour. I also used two extra cheeses which were not in the original recipe, mascarpone for a round creamy finish and some Requeijao ( Portuguese curd cheese ).
Risotto di favas , ervilhas e suas descascas
serves 6
2kg broad beans in their pods ( choose young,bright green thin pods )
1kg fresh young peas in their pods washed
Flor de sal and freshly ground black pepper
200g unsalted butter,softened
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
handful of mint leaves for garnish
small bunch of chives for garnish
1.75 litres chicken stock
200g spring onions chopped
300g risotto rice
100g parmesan,freshly grated
125 g requeijao
2 tablespoons mascarpone
Pod the broad beans and the peas. Keep the pea pods. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and add 2 tablespoons salt.Add the pea pods and cook for 5 minutes.Remove with a slotted spoon.Put through a mouli, then add 2-3 tablespoons of the cooking water.Blanch the peas in the boiling salted water,drain and add to the pea-pod pulp.Season and add 25g of the butter.

Add the broad beans to a clean pan of unsalted boiling water, and cook for 2-4 minutes.Drain and when cool remove the skins with your fingers then add 25g of the butter, the parsley and salt and pepper.Put half of this into the food processor and pulse-chop.Return to the whole beans.Heat the stock and check for seasoning. 

Melt half the remaining butter in a large, thick-bottomed saucepan.Gently fry the onion until soft and beginning to colour.Add the rice, stir to coat each grain with butter, and cook for 2-3 minutes.When the rice is opaque,start adding the hot stock ladle by ladle, adding the next only when the rice has absorbed the last.. Stir continuously. Continue to cook until the rice is al dente, about 15 minutes.

Finally,stir in the peas and their pea-pod liquor,the broad beans ,requeijao and mascarpone.Add the remaining butter,and stir in the parmesan.Serve immediately