Chef Heston Blumenthal is at the forefront of this movement and I sampled his food at the Manchester International Festival last weekend.

I wouldn't really be a fan of this type of cooking but I tried his mushy pea sorbet with mint syrup and candied bacon anyway, in the interest of research.

Let's just say I'll not be rushing to try his bacon and egg variety of ice cream or snail porridge in the near future!

Call me a stick in the mud, but I like my peas hot or picked straight from the pod.

The sorbet reminded me of Hilaire Belloc's poem from my childhood and the line: "I eat my peas with honey, I've done it all my life, it makes my peas taste funny, but it keeps them on the knife."

A great way of serving fresh, sweet, summer peas is in a risotto.

Making risotto requires patience as you have to stir it almost constantly and slowly add stock to the rice.

This results in the starch from the rice creating a creamy finish to the whole dish.

Peas and ham are great together and Richard Woodall of Cumbria makes a fantastic version of Parma ham, which is gorgeous crisped up in oil to cut through the creamy freshness of the dish.

To accompany this and keep to the whole local twist of an Italian favourite, try some crisp, chilled English wine like a Chapel Down Chardonnay.

Pea and Cumbrian ham risotto

Serves four as a main course, but would also be great with roast chicken

200g risotto rice (Arborio is good)

1 litre hot chicken stock (use a couple of stock cubes)

100ml white wine

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons crème fraiche

50g grated fresh Parmesan

100g pack of Richard Woodall's Cumbrian air dried ham (available from Tesco) or use Parma or Serrano ham

100g fresh or frozen peas

handful fresh chopped flat leaf parsley

Heat one tablespoon of the oil in a large saucepan and cook the onion and garlic on a low heat, until soft. Add the rice and cook until translucent - about one minute. Add the white wine and stir until liquid has disappeared. Add the stock, a ladle full at a time, ensuring the liquid has all evaporated between ladlefuls. Repeat until the rice has absorbed all the stock.

The risotto will take 20 minutes to cook. It should have a little bite to it but have a creamy texture. Add the peas, cook for two minutes and then add the crème fraiche, Parmesan and parsley. Check seasoning.

Shred the ham and fry in the remaining oil until crispy.

Serve the risotto in bowls with the crispy ham on top and drizzle with a bit of oil.