Day 229: sweet, delicate kisses

A sweet taste of late spring/summer in an icy winter’s storm: Day 229 is Nigella’s Risi e Bisi. Recommended to me by Ms Lawson (a favourite in her family), it brought a touch of sunny happiness and soothing relief to the angst of an aggressively windy winter’s day.

It's obviously next to impossible to beat the delicate sweet kisses of the year's first peas, but I will be forever grateful to the powers that be - and science - for the frozen petits pois; and a bowlful of this soft, tender rice and sweet, popping peas is probably the closest thing to one of those spring snogs that you're going to get in the middle of winter. It delights, cuddles and comforts the soul.

Nigella’s Risi e Bisi

I hadn’t planned to do this one just yet, but I take great comfort in now knowing I nearly always have the ingredients to hand for it; my fridge is never without parmesan, my freezer never without petits pois and cupboard rarely without risotto rice.

The recipe for Nigella’s Risi e Bisi can be found in Summer.