Asparagus Risotto with Gorgonzola
Recently I was the happy recipient of some beautiful bundles of thick and thin asparagus from my friends at Gourmet Trading Company. Elegant asparagus’ peak season is Springtime. If you are in the depths of a really cold winter, maybe this post can lift your spirits? Spring is (almost) around the corner. Gourmet Trading Company imports and distributes top-quality fresh asparagus from the areas where it grows naturally in the Americas. This month asparagus is flourishing on their farms in Peru.
Trim thin stalks of asparagus, cut into 2 inch pieces and steam in salted boiling water until tender. Shock in an ice bath to stop the cooking.
Risotto
Heat 1/2 c. olive oil in a heavy saucepan. Add a finely chopped onion. Sauté until golden brown.
Add 1 1/2 c. arborio rice and stir until each grain is coated with oil. Add 1/2 c. dry white wine and cook until the wine has evaporated. Add about 5 c. hot chicken stock gradually as absorbed, stirring continuously until the rice is al dente.
Gorgonzola, the Italian blue-veined cheese, buttery, somewhat salty and tangy pairs beautifully with risotto. Add crumbled gorgonzola cheese to the risotto, stir to melt cheese. Add salt (carefully as the cheese adds saltiness) and pepper to taste. Add asparagus. Stir gently to combine.
Finish with freshly grated nutmeg.
Marinated Asparagus Spears
Steamed thick asparagus in a spicy brown sugar balsamic marinade.
Marinade
- 1/3 c. brown sugar
- 1/3 c. balsamic vinegar
- 1/3 c. low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/3 c. olive oil
- plenty of minced garlic
- red pepper flakes to your liking
Heat all ingredients together over medium-high heat bringing to a boil. Stir to combine and melt the sugar. Let cool then pour over asparagus. Serve at room temperature.
Asparagus Bloody Mary
We were having fun experimenting with all that delicious asparagus. We ran some fresh asparagus through a juicer. Asparagus juice has a very intriguing taste, it reminded me of sunflower seeds. We heard that the amino acids and minerals in asparagus may ease hangovers. So here we made our traditional Bloody Mary topped with asparagus juice. The asparagus juice floats on top the Bloody Mary mix making a pretty festive green and red drink. We salted the rim with a mixture of smoked paprika and celery salt (that rocked!). Cheers, to a mild winter!
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the rissoto looks delicious!
Delicious! What a beautiful harbinger of spring!
Thank you Susan.
Hi Luiz – I have not heard of that method. I thought it was the friction that makes it creamy. BUT – I've also purchased the boxed pre-made risotto, and you just add the ingredients, cook, stir a couple times and it comes out pretty good. I have to tell you that this recipe is not as tedious as it sounds. You can put the spoon down and prepare the rest of your meal, just go back and stir often. I make it this way all the time and don't feel as though I am tied to the stove. Please let me know if you try it.
LL
Hi Lori,
Loved the risotto recipe – I adore eating risotto at restaurants but hardly make it at home which is a pity.
The main problem is that it can take about 30 mins to add spoon after spoon of stock while stirring it until all stock is absorbed. I heard of a chef's trick where you add all stock at once, turn off the heat and then reheat just before serving. Apparently the rice will keep cooking and absorbing the liquid as it cools down. I have not tried this method yet, but I heard is what restaurants do. Have you heard of anything similar? I wonder whether you would lose that creaminess from the starch?
Luiz @ The London Foodie
Absolutely wonderful recipes! Thank you for sharing.