Morel Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto

Note: If making your own vegetable stock, try roasting the veggies first: carrot, onion, celery, garlic. Then add water to the same pan, simmer, adding more veggies, a splash of wine, balsamic, bay leaves, a sprig of rosemary. I like to use a very weak stock for risotto. If using store-bought, water it down significantly, but do make sure the stock you use is well seasoned with salt and pepper.

Prepare the ingredients:

Much of the prep instructions is in the ingredient list. The asparagus should look perfect in the rice and not be overcooked; blanching separately helps and is worth the extra dirty pan because with fresh garden asparagus, the tips are too fragile for the stirring required for risotto.

The delicate flavor of morel mushrooms is often lost amid the other ingredients. Sauteing them in butter until the edges start to brown and crisp, then sprinkling with salt and pepper helps give them an extra dimension.

When par-cooking the risotto (see related link), you will need more liquid to finish the risotto. You can use water, or deglaze the pan you cooked the mushrooms in with water and use that. Or, if you use dried mushrooms, save the soaking water and add it to the risotto. It has a lot of flavor.

Cooking the risotto:

Bring the stock to a simmer in a sauce pan. In a separate large Dutch oven or pan large enough for the finished risotto, heat the butter or oil over medium heat, and saute the onion until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the pressed garlic and cook for another minute. Add the rice, stirring constantly, and saute for another couple of minutes. Add the wine, stirring, until mostly absorbed. Add the stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring more often than not. When the stock is mostly absorbed by the rice (when you stir, there isn’t liquid sitting on the bottom of the pan anymore), add another cup of stock. Occasionally take a bite of rice to see what stage it is at. It will take from 30-45 minutes to cook the rice over low heat. If you run out of stock, just use hot water. As you add your last cup of liquid, add the mushrooms. Once the rice is cooked, stir the blanched asparagus into the rice and gently stir until spears are heated through. Stir 3/4 cup of the grated cheese into the rice. Put into a big pretty bowl and top with remaining cheese.