Basic Risotto w/ Asparagus

Have you made Risotto? Yeah...me neither... ha.

Well, there's a first for everything right? Plus, with it being rice, we're practically best friends! hehe. Anything you make for the first time seems daunting. I know for a fact, I went back and forth from the recipe at least 10 times just to make sure I had it right. But, the true test of getting it right is in the taste.

Ask yourself this, "Would I want to take another bite of this?". If the answer is yes, well, clearly you're the best cook ever! BUT, if you say no, try to fix it with different seasonings. Sometimes that extra crack of black pepper will do the trick. If nothing ends up working, do what I do and blame the recipe! ha. If you're lucky enough, no one will be around and you can toss it while acting like nothing ever happened. Always a good way to get out of serving it to people. ;)

If you think standing over a stove and doing nothing but adding liquid and stirring is some hard work...I just have nothing to say to that. Seriously, that's literally all you do. Sure, it's not as simple as cooking a pot of white rice but this is not just rice, it's RISOTTO!

Basic Risotto

Recipe by Giada De Laurentiis

Makes 2 cups

Ingredients
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 small onion, chopped
3/4 cup Arborio rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
A little less than a pound of asparagus

Directions
In a medium saucepan, bring the broth to a simmer over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and keep the broth hot.

In a large, heavy saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat with the butter. Add the wine and simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 1 minute. Add 1/2 cup hot broth and stir until almost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking the rice, adding the broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each addition of broth to absorb before adding the next. Cook the rice until tender but still firm to the bite and the mixture is creamy, about 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the remaining butter, Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.

-Aaron John