Nothing says “spring is here” quite like asparagus season! One of my favourite vegetables, I love it grilled with hollondaise sauce, in soups, in salads, and anything in between! Asparagus risotto is one of my top ways of eating it though: it brings back many happy memories of visits to Italy. Find my easy recipe for asparagus risotto below.
INGREDIENTS
2 bunches asparagus, chopped into 1 cm pieces (green preferred, but white works too)
300 g arborio rice
1 large shallot, finely chopped (or 1 small onion, finely chopped)
1.3 L boiling chicken stock (alternatively, use same volume of boiling water and 2 chicken bouillon cubes)
125 ml dry white wine (optional)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp Herbes de Provence
50g-100g freshly grated parmesan, plus more for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
- Steam asparagus in a pot of water until lightly softened. Set aside asparagus and water.
- Melt a knob of butter in a large saucepan on medium heat. Add shallots. Cook with lid on until shallots are translucent.
- Add rice and stir until the grains look glassy. Add garlic and stir until fragrant (about 1 minute). Add the herbs.
- Pour in white wine and stir. Let cook until wine is absorbed. Skip this step if you do not want to use wine.
- Add the asparagus and the asparagus water.
- Add in a ladleful of chicken stock and stir. Continue adding chicken stock ladle-by-ladle and carefully stirring until all of it is absorbed. Rice should be al dente and creamy.
- Add parmesan and the other knob of butter and stir until it is completely mixed.
- Serve with parmesan on top… or treat yourself to a little truffle pecorino. It is delicious by itself or alongside salmon. Enjoy!
Serves 4-6. For leftovers, reheat with a few spoonfuls of chicken stock and butter. Alternatively, you can turn leftovers into arancini.