Asparagus Risotto -Revisited

 I first posted this recipe last Spring and it is indeed a winner...I noticed that during the last week or so this has been one of my most visited recipes....so I thought I would post it again...exactly as it was last March. I am not going to change a word....
My husband is returning from six weeks away in Brussels on Friday, six weeks with no home cooked meals.
I was thinking what to prepare for his homecoming dinner and I think this will be it. 
Life has been busy here of late. I am helping my youngest son ready to go to Spain on an exchange program on Thursday.Between sports and schoolwork and this and that it has just been crazy. He will not see his dad until he gets back. He will be gone for 10 days. I am so excited for him. This has been a long time being apart for all of us. It has just been hectic...I have not been blogging much. We have been eating fairly simply...just the two of us.On Saturday my husband and I will go to Philadelphia and see our older son perform in Penn Jazz which is a big band that is student run at the UPenn campus. He is a Sax playing engineering student...I love that he loves music as we all do here. It is going to be so nice to see him too, I need to kiss his face!...I need my whole family together for a while....there are big holes here. Soon....





My husband has been asking for Risotto for quite some time. The asparagus are beautiful...and I was inspired by my fellow bloggers Monique and Mary...so tonight I tried a new recipe. It was delicious. It is a Mario Batali recipe, the same one that Monique used on La Table De Nana...part of the asparagus stems are cooked and then pureed and added to the risotto at the last moment...it was simple and really lovely. Thanks Monique! I used homemade chicken stock that I had, there was not quite enough so I added a bit of broth from a box...I served some pan grilled shrimp marinated in lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and Spanish smoked paprika along side...we had a nice bottle of French Sauvignion Blanc...it was a nice end to a hectic week.

The asparagus puree...I just loved the color of it. I cooked the stems
right in the chicken stock.
                                   The first stage of risotto...saute with the butter and oil
        
After about 15 minutes
                                  Just about done....

Asparagus Risotto
         
Adapted from Mario Batali

New York Times-May2,2007

Time: 45 minutes
1 pound asparagus, peeled, trimmed and cut into one-inch-long pieces, tips reserved
4 to 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 medium red onion, diced
1 1/2 cups Arborio  rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
Salt to taste
1/2 cup  grated Parmesan cheese.
1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add half the asparagus stalks and cook until quite soft, at least 5 minutes. Rinse quickly under cold water. Put cooked asparagus in a blender or food processor and add just enough water to allow machine to puree until smooth; set aside.
2. Put stock in a medium saucepan over low heat. Put oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large, deep nonstick skillet over medium heat. When it is hot, add onion, stirring occasionally until it softens, 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Add rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is glossy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add white wine, stir, and let liquid bubble away. Add a large pinch of salt. Add warmed stock, 1/2 cup or so at a time, stirring occasionally. Each time stock has just about evaporated, add more.
4. After about 15 minutes, add remaining asparagus pieces and tips, continuing to add stock when necessary. In 5 minutes, begin tasting rice. You want it to be tender but with a bit of crunch; it could take as long as 30 minutes total to reach this stage. When it does, stir in 1/2 cup asparagus puree. Remove skillet from heat, add remaining butter and stir briskly. Add Parmesan and stir briskly, then taste and adjust seasoning. Risotto should be slightly soupy. Serve immediately.
Yield: 3 to 4 servings.
I marinated the shrimp and then skewered them together in twos and grilled them on a stove top grill pan...it was too cold to go out to the grill....


We were in a real hurry to eat here...it looks like I was standing on my head taking pictures...but the rest were , well lets just say this was the best one...you get idea...that parsley leaf looks gigantic in front of my asparagus! But you can see the pale green color of the pureed asparagus...
That was a nice touch...it tasted much better than it looked!