Lemon Asparagus Risotto
Lemon asparagus risotto with roast chicken thighs.
Risotto
Risotto may be the most comforting of comfort foods — simple yet decadent. Though it’s not difficult to make, it does take some attention and proper prep for it to turn out just right. Be sure to get your mise en place ready ahead of time. I’d say a good amount of effort is spent standing over the pot adding the correct amount of broth at just the right time and stirring the mixture to ensure it doesn’t stick and that it’s cooking evenly.
Risotto is a meal in itself so no need to make an accompaniment. But if you’re like me, and want to include a protein, then make it as a side like I did here. It goes well with roast chicken thighs, seared scallops, shrimp, or just about anything.
A side note: since we’re in quarantine, due to Covid-19, I had to substitute a few ingredients. We drank all our white wine straight away when the virus hit so I used a dry saké instead. Sometimes you have to improvise! No worries, just go with the flow. Lastly, I didn’t have parmesan cheese so I used an aged semi-hard muenster and it turned out delicious.
Ingredients:
1 cup arborrio rice (used for risotto)
4 cups broth (chicken bone broth preferably)
1 bunch asparagus (cleaned, fibrous portion removed from stalk)
3 Tbsp white wine
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 cup mixture leek & onion (rough chopped)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1/2 cup shredded cheese (parmesan)
1/2 - 1 lemon
zest of 1/2 lemon
fresh thyme
white pepper
Instructions:
Bring 4 cups of broth to a slight simmer and then turn the burner off and cover to keep warm for use while cooking. The trick is to add small amounts of ready-to-simmer broth to the rice as needed.
Prep your asparagus by cutting ends of the stalk that are too fibrous and shouldn’t be eaten. Cut the remainder of the asparagus into 3 or 4 pieces. Heat a medium skillet on the stove, add 1 Tbsp butter and sauté the spears over medium-high heat until slightly charred but still crisp. They’ll finish cooking further in the process. Set aside for later use.
In the pot you plan to cook the risotto, heat 1 Tbsp oil and 1 Tbsp butter. Sweat the leek and onion mixture until slightly translucent. Add garlic a sauté a bit longer. When the essence fills the air, add the wine and let the alcohol burn off for about 5 minutes. Place 1 cup rice into the mixture and stir while it soaks up the oil and flavors for about 3 minutes.
Now you’re ready to start adding the broth. Scoop out just one cup at a time and add to the pot until it starts to simmer while slowly stirring. When the rice has soaked up the majority of the broth it’s time to add more. Keep this going until the rice is cooked al dente. Feel free to add some additional warm water if it seems undercooked. Stir cheese into the mixture and add the asparagus to finish the cooking process.
Recall how I mentioned not cooking the asparagus entirely? Well now is when you’ll steam it to your desired tenderness so keep an eye out as to not overcook.
Before pulling off the stove, add lemon juice and some zest along with salt and pepper to taste. Once the flavor is just right you can plate it with some additional zest on top. I also added some fresh thyme from my garden which you can do as well. Buen provecho!