Risotto with Green Asparagus Tips

The asparagus bonanza continues. The recipe that follows is again based on an asparagus fond and as there will be a fair bit of the slightly less tender stalks left over, another asparagus recipe – asparagus cream soup with fresh herbs – will follow to make use of these. 

What you need

• 1 bundle of green asparagus, cut off from the top, about 10 cm long
• peels and the woody parts at the bottom
• 30 g butter
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tblsp apple balsamico vinegar (or a not too acerbic white wine vinegar)
• vegetable stock cube or powder
• 400 g risotto rice (carnaroli or Ticinesi Riso Nostrano)
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, pressed
• 2 tblsp olive oil
• 100 ml good white wine
• 5 medium-sized leaves of wild garlic, finely chopped

What you do

1. Melt the butter and and sauté the peels and parts of the asparagus that are too woody or stringy to eat until the peels are soft and the pan has taken a bit of colour.
2. Add the sugar, the stock and finally the vinegar, making sure that the browning in the bottom of the pan is dissolved, then cover with water.
3. Leave to simmer for at least 10 minutes, strain and put the fond aside.
4. In the meantime, heat the oil sauté the onions and add the garlic a bit later without letting them colour. Add the rice and stir until it looks glassy.
5. Pour in the wine, then the asparagus fond and stir. Leave to simmer for about 5 minutes, then add the asparagus tips (earlier if they are rather thick).
6. Allow to simmer till the juices have been soaked up and the rice is done (depends on the type of rice you use).
7. Shortly before serving, add the wild garlic but make sure you don’t destroy the delicate tips when you stir it in.
8. Serve with a generous helping of freshly grated parmesan or pecorino romano.

Remarks

With the rest of the stalks I make an asparagus cream soup while the risotto simmers. This works well frozen so as not to OD on asparagus. The recipe for this will follow shortly.