Asparagus risotto

When I cook beef for João, I always choose another recipe to cook for myself – and most of times I end up making risotto.
It’s my favorite dish and I’ll gladly have a big plate of it.
I should be ashamed to tell you that, but there it goes: on my honeymoon I ate so much that I had a hard time trying to get dressed for work on the following week. I literally tried almost every outfit I had back then, with little success.
Among all that spectacular food, I ate an asparagus risotto that was superb. So delicious I hadn’t forgotten about it, even 2 years later.
It was such a great week that I tried to relive it a little by making this recipe. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.

Asparagus risotto
from Kitchen: The Best of the Best

1 liter vegetable stock
50g (3 ½ tablespoons) butter
1 onion, finely diced
275g (1 ¼ cups) risotto rice – I used Arborio
175g (1 bunch) asparagus
2 tablespoons lemon juice
85g (heaped ¾ cup) parmesan, grated
salt and black pepper

Heat the stock and keep it gently simmering.
Melt the butter in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until it’s soft and transparent.
Add the rice and stir for 1 minute or until the grains are glossy and well coated in the butter. Add 240ml (1 cup) stock, simmer and stir until it is absorbed. Continue to add the stock, 1 ladle at a time, stirring continuously until the stock is absorbed and the rice is al dente.
Bring a saucepan of water quickly to a boil and blanch the asparagus until bright green. Drain and slice into bite-sized pieces.
Fold the lemon juice and the parmesan through the risotto and season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Spoon onto warm serving plates and top with the asparagus.

Serves 4