Risotto, love at first sight (or bite). It’s one of my favourite dishes ever, because it sounds and looks fancy, but it’s easy to make and the taste is comforting and delicious. Risotto is also very versatile and you can add there almost anything: peas, seafood, chicken, squash or tomatoes… Sometimes I make root vegetable purees, like beetroot puree and add it to my risotto to give it a beautiful purple colour. I think this is the perfect creamy dish to make any day a little bit better.
Psst. If you have leftover risotto (which almost never happens to me for some reason), you can roll them into little balls (3-4cm), brush with egg and roll in breadcrumbs or panko flours. Then just fry them in oil and you have super tasty arancinis to enjoy as a snack or starter!
PrintCreamy and Comforting Asparagus & Lemon Risotto
- Total Time: 30 min.
- Yield: 4 portions 1x
Ingredients
- 1 l = 10 dl vegetable stock
- 1–2 bundles of green asparagus (about 15–20 asparaguses)
- 3 garlic cloves
- 0,25 dl (25 ml) olive oil
- 4 dl arborio rice (my favourite for risottos!)
- 1 dl (100 ml) white wine
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3 dl grated parmesan cheese
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- (black pepper)
- (2 tsp finely grated organic lemon zest)
Instructions
- (Make your vegetable stock if you’re not using ready made.)
- Remove the woody ends from the asparagus. Cook the asparagus in boiling vegetable stock (or water) until just barely cooked and still crispy. Chop into little pieces (about 1-2 cm wide). You can leave a few asparagus as whole for garnish. Set aside to wait.
- Peel and crush the garlic cloves and add into a big sauce pan with the olive oil. Fry for 1-2 minutes on medium heat, but don’t let the garlic brown too much.
- Add the rice and stir for 1 to 2 minutes. Pour in the wine.
- Once the wine has been absorbed, add about 2 dl of your vegetable stock. Again when the stock has been absorbed, add 1 dl of the stock at a time, stirring occasionally.
- Keep adding stock, until the rice is al dente. (Don’t let it become too mushy and soft!). Mine was perfect after 9.5 dl of the vegetable stock, so keep checking your rice after adding 7 dl of stock.
- Turn the heat down and add the butter and grated parmesan. Mix well so both the butter and parmesan cheese will melt.
- Add the asparagus and lemon juice and mix one more time. Enjoy right away with a pinch of black pepper and lemon zest if needed!
Notes
Tip: If you can’t serve the risotto right away after cooking, save about 1/2 dl of vegetable stock and add before warming up the risotto again. That way you can keep it perfectly creamy and it won’t turn out too dry!