The theme for Monday posts in April is Asparagus.
It’s asparagus season and we eat a lot of it for the 5 or 6 weeks it’s available.
We eat green, purple, purple-tipped white, and big, fat white. We love it all.
However, the different types of asparagus are cooked differently. If you try to cook fat white asparagus like fat green asparagus you will be disappointed.
I have done a primer here on Asparagus. It’s after the recipe.
This risotto has 2 other spring favorites: green garlic and snow peas. I used thin, white violet-tipped asparagus along with the green.
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PrintAsparagus & Snow Pea Risotto
Asparagus, snow peas, green garlic – spring in a bowl!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: Risotto
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup Arborio rice (or other rice specifically for risotto – Carnaroli or Vialone Nano)
- 1/2 cup (4oz, 120ml) dry, white wine
- 2 cups plus 2 tbs (17oz, 500ml) chicken broth
- 1 tbs butter
- Condimenti
- 3oz (90gr) thin green asparagus, trimmed, cut into 1.5″ (7cm) lengths
- 3oz (90gr) thin violet asparagus, trimmed, cut into 1.5″ (7cm) lengths
- 3oz (90gr) snow peas (mangetout), trimmed, cut in half if large
- 4 green garlic, trimmed, thickly sliced
- 4 slices (3.5oz, 100gr) dry-cured ham, like Prosciutto, chopped
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup (2oz, 60gr) Parmesan cheese – freshly grated
Instructions
- Heat broth and keep hot over low heat.
- In medium sauce pan heat butter.
- Add rice and sauté, stirring, for 2 – 3 minutes until rice has white center.
- Add white wine and stir.
- When wine is almost absorbed add a 1/3 cup of broth and stir. (No need to stir constantly but do stir from time to time.)
- Start Condimenti (see below)
- When broth is almost absorbed add another 1/3 cup and continue adding 1/3 cup at a time and stirring.
- Before the last 1/3 cup is added taste a few kernels of rice. They should be just ‘al dente’ – slightly resistant to the tooth but fully cooked. If more broth is needed add it 1/8 cup at a time and waiting until almost completely absorbed.
- Add the Parmesan, Condimenti, stir well, spoon into a bowl and serve immediately.
- Condimenti:
- Heat oil in a medium skillet.
- Add green garlic, ham, asparagus and sauté until ham is crisp and asparagus tender, about 10 minutes.
- Add snow peas, stir well, and heat through.
- Turn off heat, and cover to keep warm until needed.
Notes
Use green & white asparagus or all of either. I prefer asparagus about as think as my index finger for this.
When ready the risotto will be thick but not stiff – it will not hold it’s shape on a plate. It will continue to absorb liquid and the leftovers (if any) will be quite stiff. The risottos that we have eaten in northern Italy have all been served in soup plates (flattish bowls) and eaten with a spoon – not a fork.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 recipe
- Calories: 553
- Sugar: 6.1 g
- Sodium: 1904.4 mg
- Fat: 18.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 8.5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 59.2 g
- Fiber: 3.3 g
- Protein: 26.3 g
- Cholesterol: 57 mg
Keywords: asparagus, risotto, green garlic, snow peas
For a spring classic: Risi e Bisi (Risotto with Peas).
That’s it!
I only have experience with cooking very very skinny young green asparagus and I have always poached it gently and watched it carefully so it didn’t overcook and turn that khaki colour of the tinned stuff !
We get all sizes and colors here – for about 6 weeks. We eat lots so I have lots of experience… Most successful !
I’ll try this again. (Apparently, I appear to be a robot….)
It’s asparagus season where you are?! The forsythia is just barely in bloom, and it’s snoraining here right now.
Your risotto looks fabulous. If asparagus season ever appears, we will have to try it!
Sometimes I’m a robot, then I have to call the host for a fix. Very frustrating. Too much security. I miss the old days lol
Our asparagus season is almost over already. It’s usually about 6 weeks for green (and white and violet) with another 2 for white only. It goes quickly. And it’s really expensive this year!
Asparagus already almost over!! How sad for you.
I’ll be really interested to see how much higher the prices for local asparagus get here. Everything else has been considerably higher over the winter (no surprise when you take the high price of petrol into account). But. Whether or not local asparagus has a high price tag, we’ll still be getting it. It’s way too good not to. (If we’re going to have a vice, it might as well be the vice of having to spend money on good asparagus.)
I got the robot all week so that’s why I’m trying again here on Saturday night. Every one of your posts gave me the infamous robot and my comments wouldn’t go through 🙁
I’m still not seeing anything other than regular green asparagus here, but I’m expecting our usual several pounds if our friend goes to his mom’s property again which I’m sure he will. It’s almost overwhelming, the amount he brings me so we have it every night one way or another until it’s gone. Good thing we love it!
I call to fix it (host issue), they fix it, then it breaks again. It should, once again, be fixed. I’m hoping it will stay fixed this time.
I’ve been buying 3 pounds at a time and that gives us 4 – 5 meals. It’s about double the price this year, though, which hurts. Still – it’s a short season so we splurge and enjoy.