Not long after I found iberica rice for making paella, I went back to get some for doing risotto. Our local shop had got a load of rice from different countries and I figured if I got some every time I went shopping I would soon have a nice collection. I wasn't fast enough. It all disappeared. I was too slow for the sushi rice, which was a hassle because I found some seaweed. I guess we'll have to do it with some other kind of rice - in true Macbean spirit - but that's another recipe. Back to the risotto recipe. Before all the rice disappeared, I managed to get a bag of 'riso superfino arborio'. That sounds great doesn't it? I don't know much Italian, but that sounds to me like 'arborio rice: number one, bee's knees, super duper, dog's bollocks grade'.
I planned to try a green pea risotto, coz there were lots of fresh peapods in the market. There was a recipe on the side of the rice bag for asparagus risotto which called for 500 grams of asparagus and I thought, 'Great, we'll substitute 500 grams of green peas and off we go'. So, I went to the bazaar, but before I could track down the green peas one of my regular suppliers showed me a lovely box of fresh asparagus that had just come in. 'Go with the flow.' That's my motto. I'll try green peas and porcini mushrooms later.
So, I went for the asparagus recipe, asparagus and all. Well, not all. The original recipe called for a load of olive oil, plus two tablespoons of butter. That's a lot of butter. Asparagus goes very well with butter, but I decided to leave it out. I cut back on the oil, too.
I've put 'grated parmesan' in brackets below as it is fairly standard for sprinkling over risotto before serving but can easily be omitted for a vegan dish. You could try a few toasted pine nuts instead, maybe. We didn't use anything. I didn't have parmesan and the risotto was tasty enough without.
This amount served Sveta and I twice so I guess it will serve four people.
Stick the kettle on before you start because like when doing paella, you'll need some hot water for this recipe. Dissolve the stock cubes in a mug of the hot water.
Chop the onion and fry it gently in some olive oil. Add the rice and fry for a minute before adding the wine. Cook for another five or six minutes until the alcohol evaporates. Chop the asparagus into pieces about three centimetres long and add them to the pan.
Stir gently and add the hot water and stock gradually, about a third of a mug at a time, letting the rice absorb most of the liquid before adding more. This should take about fifteen minutes and when you add the last of the liquid, the rice should still be chewy, or 'al dente'. Turn off the heat, cover the pan and leave to stand for a couple of minutes before serving.
Sprinkle some parmesan over the risotto if you like and serve with a salad and the rest of the bottle of wine.