Found in Waitrose magazine last night. I flipped through it, as I happened to finish reading my book and ended up showered  and with nothing to read at 9pm.  There were at least 3 good ideas how to use up lovely summer veg, so I rushed to Waitrose this afternoon and stocked up on some luxury items ( vanilla bean paste, thick and sweet Belazu balsamic vinegar, a bottle of Gruner Veltliner, pine nuts) and some raspberries, veggies and stuff.

Risotto that emerged took some more time to make, as tomatoes and courgettes needed to be roasted first, about 30 minutes with olive oil and seasoning, skins taken off the toms and then mixed in with the hot chicken stock. Also, I normally just sweat a shallot, this time apart from it also a carrot went in and a garlic love, I can’t say it made a tremendous difference to the taste. Arborio rice in, then usual story of wine and stock, not too much wine though, as I made The Child eat the risotto too today. Towards the end the roasted courgettes added, parmesan, lime zest ( the last of the Amalfi coast lemon I had) and basil and a few fresh green peas – a nod towards The Child.

One of the best risottos to date, the lime zest is genius.