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Asparagus Risotto is a creamy and tasty vegetarian first course, made with seasonal asparagus.
Asparagus risotto is a creamy and tasty first course, made with seasonal asparagus, perfect for a family lunch. A quick and easy recipe, ready in just 20 minutes, that everyone agrees.
The ingredients for this rice with vegetables are few, the procedure is simple and the result is a very tasty first course, but at the same time light: try it to believe it.
Risotto with asparagus is a simple first course with a delicate flavour, ideal to prepare in the spring season, as well as the perfect season to enjoy these vegetables which are harvested from the end of March to mid-June. In this recipe I offer you asparagus in three consistencies: the enveloping cream of asparagus and the crunchiness of the raw and sautรฉed vegetables create a pleasant game of contrasts.
Prepared using the traditional method, the rice is slowly cooked in vegetable broth or hot water and then flavored with asparagus cream and sautรฉed florets; the dish is then completed with the classic butter and cheese-based creaming, a step that gives the inevitable creaminess. The final touch of the risotto are the thin slices of raw asparagus placed on the surface and a teaspoon of stracciatella cheese which give a touch of elegance.
To prepare a risotto with flakes it is essential to choose the right pot and pay attention to the rice roasting phase.
Method
For the asparagus
First of all start by cleaning the asparagus, then with a knife remove the final part of the stem, the most leathery one. Now peel the asparagus with a potato peeler, start halfway up and work your way down. Keep the scraps and use them to enrich the vegetable broth that you will need to cook the risotto.
Cut off the tops of the asparagus and keep them aside. Thinly slice the stems, except two, which you will need for the final decoration.
Sautรฉ the stems in a pan with a drizzle of oil. Let them cook for 3-4 minutes, they will have to maintain a crunchy texture and a bright color.
Put the asparagus in the tall, narrow container of an immersion blender and blend them, adding a little vegetable broth if necessary. Add also the pecorino romano e basil leaves and olive oil. Blend until you get a velvety consistency and keep the cream aside, warm.
In the meantime, take care of the florets: sautรฉ them for 2-3 minutes in a pan with butter, salt and pepper, leave them crunchy, turn off the heat and keep them aside.
For the risotto
To make risotto you will need to dry toast the rice: put it in a pan without frying or seasoning. After 2-3 minutes add the vegetable broth or hot water until it is thinly covered.
Cook the risotto, stirring and sprinkling it with the hot broth a little at a time. Wait for the broth to absorb into the rice before adding the next ladleful. Halfway through cooking, add half of the hot asparagus soup, then mix.
At the end of cooking, add the remaining cream so that the color remains bright. Once the risotto is cooked, turn off the heat and mix it with the grated cheese and butter: it must have a creamy consistency.
Plate up the risotto and decorate it with asparagus tips, stracciatella flakes, pepper and extra virgin olive oil.
Recommended Items for this recipe:
Partanna Sicilian Extra Virgin Olive Oil is made with Nocellara del Belice olives also known as Castelvetrano Olives in Sicily, Italy
Asparagus Risotto
Description
Asparagus risotto is one of our favorite spring/summer first courses! So simple and genuine, it is the perfect recipe to enhance the delicate and unmistakable flavor of these delicious seasonal vegetables. The asparagus, in fact, is used in all its parts: the stems cut into rounds enrich the risotto, while the tips are transformed into a velvety cream to be added at the time of creaming for a perfectly waved result. Furthermore, the toughest part of the stems is used to prepare the vegetable broth, a clever and clever way of recycling waste that will give an even more intense and aromatic taste!
Ingredients
Instructions
To prepare risotto with asparagus, start by cleaning the asparagus: remove the hardest part of the asparagus with your hands. Cut off the asparagus tips that will serve to garnish the risotto and cut the rest of the asparagus into thin rounds.
Saute' the asparagus rounds for a few minutes with a drizzle of oil and a clove of garlic, add salt and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally,
Blend the asparagus rounds with 4-5 basil leaves, 1 tbsp of pecorino romano and 15 g of extra virgin olive oil. You will have to obtain a smooth and beautiful green cream. Set aside.
In a large pot, toast the rice for 3-4 minutes, adding a pinch of salt.
Pour over the vegetable broth or hot water until the rice is covered and continue cooking, adding water if necessary. About halfway through cooking, add the asparagus cream. Cook the rice for the time indicated in the instructions.
After cooking, add 2 tbsp of butter and mix in the Parmigiano Reggiano. Let it rest covered for two minutes.
Serve the risotto with asparagus piping hot, garnishing the dishes with the asparagus tips kept aside, add freshly ground pepper, chunks of stracciatella and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Buon Appetito!
Note
STORAGE:
Keep the risotto with asparagus in the refrigerator, in a hermetically sealed container for 2-3 days. Freezing is not recommended.
TIP:
To understand how much stem of the asparagus to discard, just fold the asparagus which will break at the junction between the softer and more leathery parts. If the stem is very thick, I recommend peeling it with a vegetable peeler to remove the tougher outer part.
I recommend blending the cold asparagus so they don't darken.
Do you have leftover risotto? Grate it in the oven with a few slices of provola, you'll get a delicious stringy flan!
