Asparagus risotto

This asparagus risotto was my favorite dish of our entire Easter lunch. To my tongue it was as if asparagus had been elevated to royalty. As a dedicated asparagus fan, I’d be pleased if every asparagus dish felt like that, but although she is always an aristocrat, this is the queen.

I chose to keep it simple and not to introduce strong flavors. Perhaps rosemary and asparagus are a mating made in heaven, but when you only eat rice once in six months, you aren’t willing to get involved in a possible mismatch, with fighting, tears and restraining orders. No, this recipe is simple. There is just what is expected in risotto or with asparagus. Call me unadventurous, but I was a very happy eater Sunday.

I also was way too busy to have three pans cooking to make one dish. Risotto requires 2, but that’s enough! So I shortcutted how the broth and asparagus was handled. If you are awfully busy and need the risotto to wait, stop everything at halfway through, then reheat the risotto and the broth and continue. The difference will not be very noticeable at all.

Asparagus risotto

Serves 4 to 8, depending on what else you are eating

1 pound/500 g asparagus
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 ounces/85 g butter (if using unsalted butter, you’ll probably need some salt at some point. This would be a point for some of it.)
1.5 cups/300 g rice for risotto (my choice in order: vialone nano, carnaroli, arborio)
.5 cup/125 ml white wine
750 ml/26 ounces chicken or vegetable broth (this is approximate and I try always to have extra going, because sometimes the rice will absorb much more than others)
more butter
2 ounces/55 g freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
Freshly ground pepper

Ahead of time, clean the asparagus and cut it for use. Remove the tips for garnish and set them aside, then cut the rest into short rounds. This is because if your asparagus has any threads or fibers, the short length will keep them from being unlovely in your mouth. You won’t notice them at all.

Heat the broth to a simmer and dump in the cut stems of asparagus. Keep it simmering while you prepare the rest of the risotto.

Heat the butter in a large and heavy pot, then fry the onions gently in it with a bit of salt if needed. Fry them until they are transparent, then add the rice and stir it about until the rice has gone chalky white and is buttered. Add the wine and stir until it’s almost all absorbed. Add 2 ladles of simmering broth and allow that to be absorbbed, too. Now, using a slotted spoon, lift the rounds of asparagus out of the broth and into the risotto pan, then add a ladle of broth. Stir that until almost absorbed.

Keep adding broth, stirring in, but you no longer must stir constantly. Just keep an eye on the risotto so it won’t get too dry and/or burn. When you are at about 15 minutes of cooking, toss the asparagus tips into the broth and let them cook to tender-crisp. It usually takes about 20 minutes of total cooking time for risotto to be just right, so that means the tips cook about 5 minutes.

The only way to be sure of risotto is to taste it. It should still have a bite to the rice, but not resemble cardboard in your teeth. It should never be all the way soft, however. In the end, you will make it the way you like it and that’s okay with me. Depending on the broth you used it may need salt, and it’s better to add that while the risotto still has some liquid to melt it. Not to much, because the Parmigiano will add salt, too.

So, your rice is cooked and softly green all over by now. Add another ounce of butter in pieces, then the cheese. Stir this around very thoroughly. I like my risotto creamy, so I would probably add enough broth to make it that way. Some chefs like it stiffer and even make shapes with it in molds. You decide which way you like it.

Scrape this all into a serving dish, like my olive wood bowl, or distribute among soup bowls. Grind fresh pepper over it. Smell the perfume rising into your face. Use the asparagus tips to garnish it. Eat it immediately, while it is still steaming hot. For an asparagus lover this is like falling in love all over again.