Asparagus Risotto

Oh my.  Yeah, that's all I can say.  It was THE BEST yet!

On tonight's menu: Asparagus Risotto
Family Circle Magazine, 2006

1 quart chicken broth

1 lb. asparagus

3 Tbsp. butter, divided

1 med. onion, chopped

1½ cups Arborio rice

1½ cups dry white wine

Zest of one lemon

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

Bring broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Trim ends of asparagus, and cut into 1½” pieces. Toss asparagus into simmering chicken stock for about 3 minutes. Remove asparagus to a bowl; reduce heat under broth to med-low.

In another large saucepan, melt 2 Tbsp. butter. Cook onion in butter until soft. Add rice and stir to coat with butter, about 2 minutes, until fragrant and slightly translucent.

Add wine to rice, and cook until almost all liquid is evaporated. Add a small ladle (about ½ cup) of warm broth to rice, stirring until broth is absorbed. Continue adding broth and stirring until it’s absorbed until a creamy sauce is formed in rice. This should take about 20 minutes and you should have about 1 cup of broth left over. Add remaining broth, 1/3 cup at a time, until absorbed.

Taste rice. If almost done, stir in remaining 1 Tbsp. butter and lemon zest. (if not, add 1/3 to ½ cup water and continue stirring and cooking, about 3 minutes. Add parmesan cheese and asparagus, heat 1-2 minutes. Add a couple Tbsp. water if risotto is too thick. Serve w/ additional parmesan cheese.

Makes 4 servings.

And yes, I made a few substitutions ;) 

I warmed the carton of reduced sodium Swanson's Chicken Broth and cooked the onion in 2 tablespoons unsalted butter on medium low heat.  This is when my mouth began to water. There's just something d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s about the smell of cooking onion in butter.  Yum.

After the onions were soft, I added the rice and tossed it in the butter and let it toast a bit.  

 Then, because I'm chicken - I removed the pan from the gas stove and added the wine.  And this is where the substituting began :)  The recipe called for dry white wine.  I didn't have any.  Just the sweet Moscato wine in small bottles.  So, I measured out the wine, found that it was a cup, and then just added water to make up the remaining half cup needed.  Now, I know what it means to have "layers of flavor" and to "only cook with wine you'd drink" because you could taste a subtle hint of the wine in the background when it was done.

I cooked the rice, adding the warm stock and stirring.  And yes, it did take close to 20 minutes.  I added the remaining butter and lemon zest after I quickly tasted the rice to make sure it was close to done.

I cooked the asparagus earlier this evening when I was making some baby food.  Instead of cooking it in the stock, like the recipe called for, I steamed them for 5 minutes then shocked them in cold water.  Since the  asparagus and leftover salmon were a little cold, I added them to the pan when I had one ladle of stock left - earlier than what the recipe called for. It turned out just fine.

I served the risotto with a sprinkle of shredded parmesan and pepper. 

I can't begin to tell you how great this recipe is.  It was soooo good.  It is a definite keeper.  I will also be looking for other 'mix-ins' for the risotto.  Making it was a lot easier than I thought it would be and well worth the effort.  You can easily make this vegetarian by using vege stock and skipping the salmon. 

I can't wait to have lunch tomorrow because leftover dinner is on the menu!!