ladleful

Add a ladleful of the tomato sauce and spread it out evenly.

Add hot fish stock a ladleful at a time, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or a plastic spatula (a stainless steel spoon will break risotto) and waiting until each ladle has been absorbed before adding another.

Add a ladleful to the risotto and let it be absorbed before adding in the next.

Add the pearl barley, season and add a ladleful of stock.

2 Bring a pan of salted water to the boil, add the pasta and cook for 1 min less than the pack instructions say, and drain, reserving a ladleful of cooking water.

Start adding the milk/stock mixture a ladleful at a time, stirring frequently and only adding more after the liquid has been absorbed by the rice, this should take 15-20 minutes.

Heat a knob of margarine in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add a ladleful of the batter, then swirl the pan to coat the base with the batter.

3 Reduce the heat to low, stir in the rice and add a ladleful of the stock.

Pour in ladleful of batter and swirl it round to coat the base.

Toss the pasta with the watercress pesto along with the remaining artichokes and a ladleful of pasta water.

When it is hot, pour in one ladleful of the batter, which will spread out across the base of the pan to about 15cm wide and 1-1.5cm thick.

Start to add the simmering stock, a ladleful at a time.