Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 1 pound thin asparagus, tough ends snapped off and reserved, spears cut on the bias into 1/2 inch lengths
3 1/2 cups homemade chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion, diced fine
Salt
2 cups Arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest from 1 small lemon
1 medium lemon, cut into wedges
2 tablespoons minced fresh mint leaves
Ground black pepper
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Directions: |
Directions:Bring the tough asparagus ends, stock, and three cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low, partially cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.
Strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer into another saucepan, pushing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the asparagus and return the saucepan to the lowest possible heat to keep the broth warm.
Melt the butter in a four-quart saucepan over medium heat. Once the foaming subsides, add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is very soft and translucent, about nine minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring frequently, until the kernel edges are transparent, about four minutes. Add the wine and cook stirring frequently, until the wine is completely absorbed by the rice, about two minutes.
Add three cups warm stock and stir infrequently (about every three minutes). Simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the bottom of the pan is dry, about 10 to 12 minutes.
Stir in the sliced asparagus. Add more stock, a half cup at a time, as needed to keep the pan bottom from drying out (about every three to four minutes); cook, stirring frequently for five minutes. Continue adding stock in half-cup increments and stirring frequently, until the grains of rice are cooked through but still somewhat firm in the center.
Stir in the Parmesan cheese, lemon zest, and mint. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately in warmed shallow bowls, accompanied by the lemon wedges. |
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