Springtime, finally ! This is a fresh, light risotto that you will enjoy eating when the sun starts to shine back, thanks to the wild garlic, chives and lemon. Don’t be fooled ; there’s a generous amount of parmigiano and butter, too, but sshh, you can’t really tell !
Plus, asparagus is a beauty that can only be enjoyed around 2 months a year, so rush to your farmer’s market and make some damn asparagus !
Then I advise you to respect the italian basics for authentic risotto :
- no cream, just butter and parmiagiano (at the very end of the cooking process) ;
- use some onion for its sweetness, and a glass of white wine to bring some welcome acidity ;
- toast your rice in the pan before adding your liquids ;
- add your broth one ladle at a time, to let the rice release all its starch and make the creamiest risotto ;
- try to use a holed spoon (risotto spoon), which will allow you to stir your risotto frequently (you don’t want it to stick to the bottom of your pan) without crushing it. ;
- please taste regularly once you reach the 15mn mark.
Asparagus & wild garlic Risotto – Recipe
Ingredients – Advice & key points
All your produce for this recipe should be easy to find, provided you’re doing it at springtime !
- Rice : It is very important to use risotto-appropriate rice. The three most common varieties are :
- Carnaroli rice, the king of risotto rices ; use it if you can ;
- Arborio rice, which is the second best choice, and more widespread than Carnaroli ;
- Vialone Nano, which cooks up more quickly than carnaroli (eg easy to overcook), and yields very creamy risotto.
- Asparagus : We’re using the green kind here ! I wouldn’t recommend using the white one in a risotto. Besides, I peeled them here, but you can do without, especially if your asparagus is not dehydrated (it can become fibrous if it was harvested a while ago). However, I recommend you to remove the bottom part of the asparagus anyway, as it is usually quite rough and fibrous.
- Wild garlic : You should be able to find some at springtime, but if you don’t, just add more chives !
- Vegetable broth : The broth here imparts a lot of flavour, so I highly recommend you either buy a quality one or do it yourself. I almost always do it myself, using veggies scraps that I gradually add to a plastic bag in my freezer. When you need some broth, just throw them in some water with a bit of salt, 2 bay leaves, a few sprigs of thyme, and an hour later, you get a delicious homemade broth !
Risottos don’t reheat very well, but I tend to do it anyway by adding leftovers +a splash of stock (2-3 tbsp) to a pot or nonstick pan on medium-low heat. The taste will not be as bright and fresh as the first time, but it is still a quick and nice meal to have.
Now come and cook !
Asparagus & wild garlic Risotto
Description
Simple vegetarian risotto with fresh, seasonal produce : with asparagus, wild garlic, chives and lemon, it is as fresh as it is comforting and generous - hello, Parmiagiano and butter !
Ingredients
Instructions
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Prep your ingredients
Make your vegetable stock first if you have to.
Remove the fibrous bottom end of the asparagus (usually 3-4cm). Peel them if you feel the need to.
Roughly chop up your wild garlic and mince your chives.
Peel, crush with the flat of your knife, 2 garlic cloves.
Set aside the asparagus heads, then slice the remaining parts in 1,5cm sections.
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Let's cook !
Bring a nonstick pan to medium-high heat. Add around 2 tbsp of olive oil. Drop your garlic, then your asparagus heads. Cook for around 4 minutes ; the asparagus must remain crunchy yet tender.
Bring a large pot to medium-low heat. Add 1/3 of your butter. When it is melted, add your onions.
Around 2 to 3 minutes later, add your rice. Bring your fire to medium heat. Let it roast, without coloring, for around 2 to 3 minutes. It will become quite translucent.
Add your white wine. Let if evaporate (around 3 minutes). Add your bouillon, ladle after ladle, only adding when the previous one has almost fully evaporated. 10 minutes in, add your asparagus sections.
Start tasting at the 15 minutes mark. Mine took around 25 minutes to cook.
When the rice is still a bit firm, but fully cooked, remove from heat. Add your Parmigiano, your butter, your herbs and your lemon zest.
Et voilà !! You're done !
There is no set rule for the risotto cooking time ; from my experience, it can take anywhere from 15 to... 30 minutes ! I did not undercook or overcook it ; it simply depends on your rice type.