asparagus risotto

Frankly speaking, I was really intimidated by the notion of making risotto. I’ve watched many contestants on Top Chef get sent home for improperly cooked risotto (almost as often for failed desserts). It’s too hard, time-consuming, and it won’t come out right. Boy, was I wrong! Thanks to Chef Julie’s instructional how-to video (and recipe), it was a really easy, just keep stirring and follow the recipe. I’m happy to report, I cooked it on a weeknight (one of those 10pm weeknight dinners :))

The dish calls for dry white wine and I found this bottle of Spanish wine for $5. Perfect for a hot summer day. A sauvignon blanc would do the trick.

Overall, the dish was light, creamy, and wonderful! My mom, who belongs to the picky eaters club said it was really good. Haha.. Besides, nothing says spring like asparagus. In my version, I added a squirt of lemon juice and zest with a chiffonade of fresh basil. I will say that using homemade chicken broth makes a difference since there only a few ingredients in this dish. I made my stock with leftover rotiserrie chicken bones but you can use the store bought kind too.