End of Summer Asparagus Risotto with Green Onions

It took me a while to try risotto as a home cooked meal. I usually just order it at the restaurant because it’s so much easier. There’s no preparation involved, and no long hours spent over the stove, stirring the grains over and over again… So yes, it took me while to try to make risotto. But oh my, was I wrong!

Though my thoughts reflected pretty common thinking about risotto, it turns out that it’s really not that complicated to make it yourself, or time consuming for that matters. Oh, and also much healthier!! Healthy risotto? Sounds tempting to anyone?

For the “time consuming” idea, especially if you cook it for yourself, a small batch of risotto comes together in a breeze. Just chop some veggies, toss them with olive oil in a pot, and add the rice and stock. Stir while it absorbs it all and you’re in for a treat. Easy as A.B.C.

Now on to the “healthy” part of it. One of the reasons I used to order risotto at the restaurant was because I wouldn’t see the amounts of butter and cheese added to the rice to make it creamy. Since “what you can’t see can’t hurt you”, I then indulged guiltlessly in these plates of deliciousness coming out of the kitchen. However, I found out that you don’t need to add excessive amounts of fat to achieve super creamy rice dishes. In fact, my recipe doesn’t use butter at all! No butter in risotto??? Yes. No butter in risotto. Because the starch released by the grains is already super creamy and the touch of parmesan that I add finishes the work off nicely. I’m serious, this will revolutionize the way you think about/eat risotto.

I mean, just look at these mouth watering close-ups. They exude creaminess! Once you have the basic technique down, you can use any vegetable you like to customize your risotto. I particularly like it with asparagus, but my other favorite uses mushrooms. As the temperature gets colder, my main dishes get warmer and more comforting. This one was a great solution to today’s rainy weather! Bon appétit!

---

Total time: 20 minutes

Ingredients: 

• 1/4 cup Arborio rice
• a bunch of thin green asparagus
• 2 green onions
• 3/4-1 cup vegetable stock
• 1/4 lemon, juice
• grated parmesan
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Chop the green onions, and the bunch of asparagus into small pieces.
2. Heat some olive oil in a pot. Add the vegetables, and let them sizzle until they get some color. Then, add the rice and let it sizzle with the veggies for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly.
3. Bring the heat down to medium-low, and add about 3/4 cup of the vegetable stock ladle by ladle, allowing the rice to absorb the liquid after each addition. Don’t stop stirring, so that the rice doesn’t attach to the bottom of the pot. This should take about 15 minutes.
4. Once all the stock has been absorbed, taste the rice. If it’s still too hard, add some more stock, but don’t let the rice become soggy!
5. Right before serving, sprinkle some grated parmesan and stir the risotto to let it melt. Garnish with freshly grated black pepper and a drizzle of fresh lemon juice. Enjoy!

TIP: I don’t add butter to my risotto, as it’s already so creamy and rich without it. But feel free to add some with the parmesan at the end of the cooking process, right before serving. 

 

Temps total: 20 minutes

Ingrédients:

• 1/4 cup riz Arborio
• une botte de fines asperges vertes
• 2 oignons verts
• 1/2-3/4 cup de bouillon de légumes
• 1/4 citron, jus
• parmesan rapé
• huile d’olive
• sel et poivre

Etapes:

1. Emincez les oignons verts, et les asperges en petits morceaux.
2. Faites chauffer de l’huile dans une casserole. Ajoutez les légumes émincés, et laissez les colorer pendant quelques minutes. Puis, ajoutez le riz et laissez le colorer avec les légumes pendant quelques minutes, sans cesser de mélanger.
3. Baissez le feu, et ajoutez environ 1/2 cup de bouillon de légumes louche par louche, en laissant le riz absorber le liquide entre chaque ajout. arrêtez pas de mélanger, de façon à ce que le riz ‘accroche pas à la casserole. Environ 15 minutes au total.
4. Lorsque tout le liquide a été absorbé, goutez le riz. S’il est toujours trop dur, continuez à ajouter du bouillon, mais attention à ne pas trop l’arroser.
5. Juste avant de servir, ajoutez le jus de citron et du parmesan râpé, mélangez pour laisser le fromage fondre. Rectifiez l’assaisonnement avec du poivre fraichement moulu et bon appétit!

LE PLUS: Contrairement à la tradition, je n’ajoute pas de beurre dans mon risotto, car je le trouve déjà assez crémeux et riche comme ça, mais vous pouvez en ajouter avec le parmesan et le jus de citron juste avant de servir. 

Advertisement