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artichoke, green bean and pine nut risotto

You will need 600ml/ 1pt vegetable stock 50g/2oz fine green beans 15 ml/ 1tbsp olive oil 1/2 onion, diced 1 cloves garlic, crushed 175g/6oz arborio rice 100-200ml bottle dry vegetarian  white wine 2.5ml/ 1/2 tsp dried oregano 40g/ 1,1/2 oz pine nut kernels, toasted 200g/7oz canned artichoke hearts, drained and quartered handful flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped handful fresh basil, torn 50g/2oz vegetarian Parmesan cheese, optional salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the stock to a bare simmer and keep simmering over a very low heat. Bring a pan of water to the boil and add the green beans for three minutes. Remove from the water, drain and set aside. In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil and add the onion. Cook for 2 minutes then add the garlic and sauté for a couple of minutes. Add the rice and cook for a further 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Begin adding the stock a ladle at a time, allowing the rice to absorb all the stock before adding more. Continue stirring. When half the stock has been used, add the wine and oregano, stirring constantly. Continue adding the remaining stock, total cooking time will be about 20 minutes. When the last ladle of stock has been added, add the beans, pine nuts, artichoke hearts and herbs. Cook for an additional few minutes, the rice should be al dente, with a bit of a bite in the centre. When cooked, remove the pan from the heat, stir in the Parmesan if using and season to taste. Serve immediately.

Pine Nuts Many nuts are rich in zinc, a lack of which is said to cause impotence and infertility in men. Pine nuts especially have been used for centuries to make up love potions. The Roman poet Ovid (a vegetarian) in his work 'The Art of Love' selected 'the nuts that the sharp-leafed pine brings forth' as an effective and powerful aphrodisiac. Arabian scholars such as Galen recommended one hundred pine nuts, before going to bed. Nuts have also been found to be an effective brain food, due to a substance called boron that increases electrical activity in the brain

Copyright The Vegetarian Society's recipe collection 'Feeding the Imagination' 1997