Winter Warmers: Baked Asparagus Risotto

Baked Asparagus Risotto  

Asparagus is starting to appear in northern states and this set-and-forget risotto makes for a time friendly alternative to the classic Italian dish.

Serves 4
Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups arborio rice
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 small brown onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 25gms butter
• Salt and pepper
• 2 bunches of asparagus
• 50gms walnuts or pistachios
• ½ cup of sharp cheddar or parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Method:

Preheat oven to 190 degrees.

Heat the stock until just boiling them remove and set aside.

Fry onion and garlic in olive oil and just translucent. In a greased oven dish add the fried onion and garlic together with rice, stock, butter, salt and generous amounts of black pepper.

Cut the tops of the asparagus and set aside, slice asparagus stems into small discs and add these to the risotto. Cover with a lid or foil and bake for 40 minutes.

Toast the crushed walnuts in a hot pan, set aside. Add oil or butter to pan and on a high heat quickly fry the asparagus heads set aside.

Remove risotto from oven and stir through parmesan cheese.

Drizzle with olive oil, and top with walnuts and asparagus heads and extra cheese.

Notes:

• Cooler climates where asparagus hasn’t arrived yet can substitute for finely chopped broccoli, or shredded band trimmed brussel sprouts.
• Cheddar will make the risotto a little more silkier than parmesan, equally tasty

Happy cooking!