I’ve been craving this all week and finally made some last night!  It did not disappoint.

Very filling, comforting food.  Hubby loved it, had a snack when he arrived late from work.  I will be making this again with other interesting ingredients, i.e. roasted chestnuts, basil pesto, sweet potatoes or squash.

One of the best risottos I’ve ever enjoyed was at Mondos Cafe here in Whitby many years ago (over 10?), for a wonderful New Year’s Eve dinner.  It was so decadent, it was a Food Somersault moment I will never forget.

Here is the recipe with the Asparagus. I followed different bits of 3 recipes and used up what I had on hand.  The end texture was super creamy with the risotto having a slight bite (al dente) and I think it was quite perfect for me.  I will have to make it and have friends critique it because I am not the Risotto queen.  I do have family visiting from Australia in July and one of them is Italian decent so I can test it at that time.  I think that is a good idea! 🙂

Asparagus Risotto with Lemon – creamy, delicate and decadent!!

Ingredients:

• 1 small onion finely chopped (sweet vidalia is what I used)
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.  (extra for serving) (fresh is good too)
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 5 – 6 cups of chicken broth
• salt – 1 tsp to broth (optional)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp good olive oil
• 1 1/2 Tbsp butter
• 1 1/2 cup Arborio rice
• 3 Tbsp minced fresh chives (plus extra for serving)
• 1 bunch of trimmed asparagus (remove ends where they naturally break, and see my roasted asparagus recipe for cooking them perfectly)  Click here for easy recipe.

Directions:

• In a good medium saucepan, saute your onions in butter/olive oil.  Add your rice and saute a bit more until edges are translucent.
• In a separate pot, bring your chicken broth to a simmer.  Keep hot.
• In the pan with the rice, slowly add stock until absorbed.  I was adding about 1/2 cup to 1 cup or so at a time.  You must keep stirring constantly while the rice is slowly simmering.  You must be watching it for at least 20 minutes (according to this one recipe).  My rice had to cook more like 30 or 40 minutes.  Maybe I was not simmering it enough but I did not want to overcook it.
• Towards the end, you might have some extra stock left, but as the rice sits perhaps waiting for your asparagus or other ingredients, you might still add it.  It will make it creamier and you can add more cheese.
• This dish is a traditional dish that you learn and master as you go but worthwhile.
• Once my rice was pretty much cooked to my liking, I roasted my asparagus in oven.
• Next I mixed the lemon juice with the Parmesan cheese in a bowl and I added my cream.  I mixed it up well and when ready to serve, I added this to my rice and then I added my asparagus.
• Note you should chop your asparagus in approximately 1 1/2 inches in length.
• Season with salt and pepper as needed.