Instructions

You will need two pans and a plate to prepare the risotto.  The plate is for the asparagus, which is briefly sautéed in the same pan we’ll prepare the risotto in. I cook risotto in a Staub “Everyday” pan, which is 10 inches/25cm across and 2.5 inches/6cm deep. It’s ideally sized for risotto making. The other pan is for the broth.

Start by trimming your asparagus. People are incredibly opinionated when it comes to asparagus trimming, so do what you want. Slice the spears into bite-sized pieces and melt a little butter in your risotto pot.

Drop the asparagus in. Sauté for a few minutes over medium heat. Remove to the waiting plate.

Okay. Put your broth pan on the stove and pour the broth into it. You need six cups, give or take, and you need it hot. Not boiling, but a nice simmer.

Turning back to the rice pan. Add the second bit of butter, and a little bit of olive oil–about a tablespoon. Medium low heat. Now add the garlic and onion (or shallot). Cook gently for a couple minutes.

Pour in the rice, and give it a good stir around the pot, coating it with butter. Once the grains are shiny with fat, pour in the wine or Vermouth. Stir. Lots.

You may need to adjust the heat here; it needs to be warm enough to let the rice absorb the liquid but not so hot the rice starts sizzling and burning. Trust your eyes and, importantly, your nose. Americans are rarely taught to use their sense of smell while cooking. Try it.

Stir, stir, stir. Once the wine is absorbed, start adding the broth. I use a small ladle; it holds about three tablespoons. You’ll get a sense and quickly establish a rhythm. For the first 15-20 minutes or so, the rice will feel hard against the spoon and appear chalky. As it absorbs the broth, the grains will expand and soften. The rice will go from hard white to a softer cream color.

If you run out of broth before the rice is done, add water to the broth pan, heating to simmer, and add to the rice until it’s done. Once the risotto is ready, add a final ladle of liquid and taste for seasoning. Stir in the asparagus and add parmesan to taste. It is best to serve risotto at once, but you can turn the heat all the way down, cover the pot and hold the risotto for an hour. Any more than that and you’ll have congee.

Leftover risotto will keep, refrigerated, up to three days. Do not freeze.

Notes:

You want to use the best possible broth here. If you don’t make your own, much as it makes me shudder, now is the time to buy that fancy bone broth in twee jars people are charging stupid money for. But really, if you can be coaxed into making your own broth, now is the time for it.

I use Vermouth in place of white wine, which I rarely have in the house.

Variations are endless: add other vegetables such as peeled cooked fava beans, fresh peas, minced sauteed zucchini, chicken, ham, shellfish, on and on.

The literature on risotto is enormous; this post isn’t even the tip of a (rapidly melting) iceberg.

For additional reading and recipes, here are a few starting places:

Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid: Seductions Of Rice

Anna Del Conte: Gastronomy of Italy

Marcella Hazan: The Essentials Of Classic Italian Cooking

Sri Owen: The Rice Book

John Thorne: Pot On The Fire