asparagus risotto - der Spargel wächst

We are subletting an apartment in rural Vermont. Although it is technically Summer, it is still Spring (or "mud season" as it is called here) in VT. The only vegetables in the local farmers market this week were spinach and baby bok choi. The food co-op had some local asparagus that looked good, so we decided to make asparagus risotto. The nearest supermaket is a 30 minute drive away (1 hour round trip), so we will be relying largely on the local co-op. Most of our cooking equipment is in storage, forcing us to make do with the sublessor's meager kitchen supplies.

Risotto is a great comfort food, and is much easier to cook than you might think. True, it requires 20 minutes of stirring, but it only takes about 30 minutes of total cooking, including preparation. This is an adaptation of the basic risotto recipe we used for sweet potato risotto. I gave the broth a stronger asparagus flavor by putting the asparagus ends into the broth. Of course, you have to be careful not to get asparagus ends into your risotto.

Although people often steam the asparagus separately and add it at the end, we faced a severe shortage of pots and needed to make do with only two pots. One pot was used to heat the broth, and the largest pot was used to cook the risotto. We added the chopped asparagus to the cooking risotto about 5 minutes before we expected it to be ready. If you cook the asparagus in the risotto, you must time it carefully because overcooked asparagus and overcooked rice are both bad - you need to make sure that both are done at the some time. If you do not want to worry about that, simply steam the asparagus separately and add it at the end. We simmered the asparagus tips in the remaining broth and used the tips for a garnish. It is best to heat up more broth than you think you will need, since it is better to have broth left over than to run out and have dry risotto. We usually heat up a kettle of water as well in order to have water to replenish the broth if necessary.

The risotto was fantastic. The asparagus ends flavored the broth, which infused the rice. Everything had a wonderful asparagus flavor that melded well with the parmesan. We eliminated the garlic that is in the basic risotto recipe so that the asparagus would not be overwhelmed. Fortunately for us, the asparagus pieces and the rice were finished at exactly the same time. I prefer my asparagus on the firm side. This risotto went well with our white wine, an Albariño from the Rias Baixas in Galicia.

The recipe follows:
Asparagus Risotto

Ingredients:

* a bunch of asparagus
* 1 Tb. butter
* 2 Tb. olive oil
* 1 1/2 c. arborio rice (or other rice good for risotto)
* 6 cups vegetable broth (we use low-salt bouillon to make the broth quickly)
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 1/2 c. dry white wine (you will be able to taste the wine in the finished risotto, so use something you would drink)
* 1/2 c. parmesan
* salt
* pepper

1. Rinse asparagus and snap off ends - but don't throw away the ends. Chop the asparagus into small pieces, setting aside the tips.
2. Add asparagus ends to broth, and heat broth in a saucepan. Simmer the broth to develop the asparagus flavor. I left the broth simmering the whole time I was cooking the risotto. You don't have to do this, though; just keep the broth hot.
3. Chop onion.
4. In a large, heavy pot, heat butter and olive oil over medum heat. Cook the onion until translucent.
5. Add rice to pot and cook 2 minutes, stirring.
6. Add 1/2 cup dry white wine and cook, stirring, until wine is absorbed.
7. Cook over medium heat as you would any risotto:
-1. add 1/2 cup hot broth to rice
-2. stir rice constantly
-3. when broth is absorbed, add another 1/2 cup broth to rice
-4. repeat
8. When there are about 5 minutes left until the rice will be done (this should be after about 15 minutes), add the chopped asparagus, reserving the asparagus tips for garnish. Simmer the asparagus tips in the remaining broth for a minute or two while the risotto and asparagus cook.
9. When the rice is just tender and the asparagus is cooked, remove from heat and add one last 1/2 cup broth. Some people like soupier risotto, so you can add more broth if you like.
10. Stir in parmesan cheese to taste, about 1/2 cup.
11. Salt and pepper to taste
12. serve in bowls and top with asparagus tips

Serve with the white wine.

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