Cook time 30 mins

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups arborio rice
• 1 quart vegetable stock
• ½ cup white wine
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ¼ cup parmesan cheese
• 1 bunch of asparagus, chopped in 1 inch pieces (about 1-2 cups)
• Juice from half a lemon
• Salt and pepper to taste

Steps:

1. Heat vegetable stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan, then lower heat so stock stays hot.
2. In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat, add chopped shallot and saute for 2 minutes until translucent. Next add garlic and saute for an additional minute.
3. Add rice to the pan and stir so the rice is coated with oil. Continue to saute for 1 minute or until there is a slightly nutty aroma. Do not let the rice turn brown.
4. Next add the wine and cook while stirring until the liquid is full absorbed.
5. Once wine is absorbed, add a ladle of hot stock to the rice and stir until fully absorbed. When rice appears almost dry, add another ladle of stock and repeat the process until there are about two ladles of stock left. Now add the asparagus with another ladle of stock until the stock is again absorbed, add the last ladle with the parmesan cheese stirring until almost all absorbed. Season with salt and pepper to taste and finish with a fresh squeeze of lemon juice.

Notes:

The parmesan cheese and vegetable stock add quite a bit of salt to the risotto so taste before adding any additional salt. Risotto should be served right away as it turns glutinous if held for too long. The risotto should be soft and creamy but should not run across the plate, nor should it be stiff or gluey. It is important to constantly stir the risotto through the cooking process to prevent it from sticking to the pan and burning.