Pea Risotto

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion (about 8 oz.), peeled and finely chopped

2 cups Arborio rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

About 5 1/2 cups chicken stock

8 oz shelled fresh peas

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper
Pour olive oil into a pan over medium-high heat; when hot, add onion and stir often until limp, about 5 minutes. Add rice and stir until opaque, about 3 minutes.
Add wine and stir until absorbed, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 5 1/2 cups stock, about a cup at a time, stirring after each addition until almost absorbed, 25 to 30 minutes total; stir in peas with the second cup of stock. If risotto is thicker than desired, stir in a little more broth. Stir in cheese and add salt and pepper to taste.

To make this totally vegetarian use a good vegetable stock.

Sausage and Guinness casserole

Ingredients
1 tbsp vegetable oil
12 good-quality pork and herb sausages
2 large onions, sliced
2 celery sticks, chopped
12 rashers smoked streaky bacon, chopped
2 tbsp plain flour
1/3 carton passata
330ml bottle Guinness
300ml beef stock, hot
250g chestnut mushrooms, halved

Heat the oil in a large casserole or deep, wide frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the sausages and cook for 6-8 minutes, until browned all over. Remove and set aside.

Add the onions, celery and bacon to the casserole and cook, stirring, for 6-8 minutes, until softened. Stir in the flour and tomato passata and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the Guinness, bring to the boil and cook for 2 minutes, until reduced. Add the stock, bring back to the boil, then return the sausages to the casserole with the mushrooms. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, and season to taste.

Not really what I was expecting to be making on a Sunday in August, but it was delicious and the accompanying vegetables were at least home grown!

Berry Slump

100g butter

100g caster sugar

100g SR Flour

2 eggs

2tsp vanilla extract

600g mixed summer berries

In a mixer, whizz together the butter, sugar, flour, eggs and vanilla, until smooth. Lightly grease a baking dish and tip in the summer berries.

Dollop over the cake mix, cover the fruit.

Cook for 45 minutes in an oven Gas 4. Serve warm with custard, vanilla ice cream, or extra thick cream.