Asparagus with Rice
Submitted by Sweetbrown
Asparagus risotto made with arborio rice, dry white wine, and asparagus-infused cooking water as the stock. A zero-waste Italian technique that builds deep flavor from stalk to tip.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
30 minREADY
60 minThis asparagus risotto uses a clever Italian technique that most recipes miss entirely. The woody stalks are boiled, then pressed through a sieve, and the asparagus-infused cooking water becomes the liquid you build the risotto with. Every ladle added to the rice carries that concentrated asparagus flavor through the whole dish.
The tips are reserved and sauteed separately with the onion at the start. They stay intact and tender while the stalk pulp dissolves into the cooking liquid. By the time the rice is al dente, you have two textures working together: the creamy, starch-rich base and the whole tender tips suspended throughout.
Dry white wine goes in first, before any stock, cooked over high heat until fully evaporated. This concentrates the wine’s flavor without leaving raw alcohol in the background. Then the asparagus water goes in gradually, a ladleful at a time, the classic risotto method that encourages the starch to release slowly and create that characteristic creaminess.
The finish is a tablespoon of cold butter stirred in to glaze the rice, then freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Serve immediately.
Pro Tips
- Press the stalks firmly through the sieve to extract as much pulp as possible. This is what makes the cooking liquid flavorful.
- Keep the asparagus water hot throughout cooking. Cold liquid shocks the rice and stalls the starch release.
- Stir consistently but not constantly. Risotto needs attention, not obsessive stirring.
- Stop cooking when the rice is al dente with a slight resistance at the center. It continues cooking in the residual heat.
Ingredients
Directions
Soak and rinse the asparagus. Cut off the tips and put aside. Boil the stalks in lightly salted water. When tender, press the stalks through a sieve and return the pulp to the cooking water. Keep hot.
Finely chop the onioin. Melt the butter in a saucepan and gently fry the onion and the asperagus tips for a few minutes. Add the rice, mixing and turning with a wooden spoon until the grains are coated in the fat.
Pour the wine over the rice, raise the heat and boil briskly until the wine has evaporated. Dilute the bouillon cube and the meat extract in the hot asperagus water. Add a little of the liquid to the rice, lower the heat, stir and add more liquid as it reduces, until the rice is al dente.
Adjust the seasoning if necessary, glaze the rice with 1 tablespoon butter and add the grated cheese. Stir well and serve immediately.
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