hugh fearnley-whittingstall's baby carrot and broad bean risotto

I don't know about you lot but carrots, and more specifically left-over carrots are a hardy staple of our fridge: We all sort of eat them, but we eat less of them than we buy. Some go into the freezer to go into stocks, Milo has them for dinner a couple of times a week, and we also panic chop and eat them with houmous, but we bin a lot more than we consume.

'Tis vexing, which is why when I spotted this in St Hugh's Veg! Everyday book I thought I might have found one of those recipes that will adequately absorb the carrot surplus. It looks pretty good, and as His Holiness points out, it is a little taste of early summer. After all nobody wants Carrot Soup in July:

The thing is though, whilst it is nice - although I suspect fresh broad beans would be more vibrant than canned - and filling, it just tastes like almost-every-other risotto: rice, cheese and whatever else you throw in as a third flavour. Given the sheer weight of carrots, we will be having this again but I wonder what I can add to make it really special?

I realise I'm sounding a little negative, which I don't mean to be. Clearly eating the whole lot (serves 4-6) indicates how tasty it was, and it was a great accompaniment to watching my new favourite thinking-man's crumpet, Dr Helen Castor. She's my second favorite lady historian after Mrs A Barnes BA, PGCE of course.

Wine Time
Again, another one for The Yummington menu I think. It's not a particularly citrus-y risotto this and neither is very earthy, so I think a white with some body would be perfect: A Burgundy would be divine if you were minted, failing that a New World Chenin or Chardonnay would fit the bill.

sources
baby carrot and broad bean risotto - Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, River Cottage Veg Everyday! p269