Whoops and Asparagus Risotto

Okay, so I seemed to have punked on the Christmas cookie recipes, though I did make four kinds (Russian tea cakes, espresso crinkles, world peace cookies and margarita cookies). Ah, next year I’ll be better at posting recipes. Really, I swear. Moving on…Sunday dinner.

I didn’t have much in my vegetable crisper or in the cupboard, and I didn’t want to go to my fruit/veg market again (it seems like I go every day), so I used what I had on hand. Well, that, and I’d had a taste for risotto, plus, I had asparagus. I figure if you ever want to impress someone or yourself, for that matter, have a risotto recipe at hand and get good at making it. It really is fairly easy to make and it comes together pretty quickly too. It’s weird, when I think back, I used to be afraid of making risotto. I guess I thought it’d turn out over-cooked and mushy (it did once, but I still ate it). Since then, I’ve overcome my “fear” and (gotten much better at making it) I’ve made different varieties: mushroom, butternut squash, and tonight, asparagus. It’s pretty much the same steps with a few additions/subtractions here and there and it comes together in about 30 minutes!

  • 2 Shallots, chopped finely
  • 2 TB of butter, plus 1 TB
  • 1 C. white wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc)
  • 1 C. Aborio rice
  • 1 carton (32oz) of vegetable stock. I use Kitchen Basic, no sodium
  • 1 pd. asparagus, washed, trimmed, cut into bite-size pieces
  • Fresh thyme or rosemary (optional)
  • 1/2 C. shredded Pecorino-Romano (optional)

Heat stock and keep on low simmer. You don’t want to add cold stock each time to the rice.

I used my 3.5 qt. saute pan for this and it worked perfectly. On a medium to low burner, saute the shallots and butter until they’re soft, about a minute. Add the rice, stir to coat well. Cook that until it’s translucent, a couple more minutes. Add white wine, stir well. Wait until the wine evaporates, then add a ladle of warm stock to just cover the rice, stir again. The heat on the burner shouldn’t be too high, but the rice/stock should simmer. Wait until the liquid evaporates and continue to add until the rice is al dente. (You want it almost cooked through, and you don’t want mushy rice). Just before you add the last ladle, add the remaining tablespoon of butter and the asparagus, then add the stock. Let that evaporate. At this point the asparagus should be tender-crisp and bright green, while the rice is creamy. If you’re using cheese, you can add it at this point too. Now, you’re done! Your kitchen will smell wonderful and you’ll feel like you’ve accomplished something. Simple, eh?