A word from Jess about Risotto

The layout of this recipe was appealing to me as both a reader and cook. It encompasses everything you would need such as how long it takes to make, lists the ingredients first and even gives advice on what to do if the dish doesn’t taste quite right.

However it does read slightly as a “make what you can out of what you have left in the cupboard” recipe but during the wartime this could have been seen as resourceful rather than a final resort, due to the constant propaganda of not wasting food. During the war time period it was considered a crime to waste food.

Marguerite Patten, a food advisor to the government described the wartime view on food to the BBC News Magazine in 2007; “Back then if you didn't use every bit of food you'd end up with nothing to eat," she says. "You were proud to use everything because you felt you were helping the war effort - we all felt we were pulling together. Using leftovers also felt like getting a free meal and that was satisfying in itself.”

In some ways the risotto dish is extremely resourceful as it could be eaten cold the next day. In our society today, infected with fast food and throw away meals we often neglect our resources and after producing this recipe I have become a lot more aware of how I cook and use my ingredients.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7071501.stm