100g butter
2 small onion, finely chopped
400g arborio rice
250ml white wine or white vermouth
1 litre hot vegetable stock
500g asparagus, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 lemons, zest and juice
1. Melt the butter in a wide, high-sided pan over a very low heat. Let the onion soften in the butter, stirring from time to time so that it does not colour but instead becomes translucent and silky.
2. Stir in the rice, folding the grains over briefly in the butter with a wooden spoon. Pour in the wine or vermouth and let it bubble down until the liquid has pretty much evaporated.
3. Add a hefty ladleful of hot stock, turn the heat up a bit, then let the liquid almost evaporate before adding the pieces of asparagus and a second ladle of stock. Continue adding the stock as it boils down to almost nothing. Stir the rice often.
4. Season with salt, pepper, the lemon zest and juice and continue cooking until the rice is creamy but has a little bite left in it. Can be served with great effect in baked peppers. Get all three colours of pepper and bake for 20 minutes or so.
Posted by reisel at April 12, 2006 03:51 AM