Spring Asparagus Risotto

Spring is coming!  So what is spring? Spring is:

• When new fashion trends emerge
• When people (like me) begin to realize that summer is around the corner and diets have to resume
• When you see new fruits and veggies in markets
• When high school seniors get senoiritis

To celebrate the 3 consecutive days of nice-for-Shanghai weather, I decided to make some asparagus risotto (with an optional addition of mushrooms).

Oh sun, I have missed you.

 This risotto is fresh, creamy, healthy and easy to make. Win-win situation. Also, it's a relatively easy dinner to make!

Spring Asparagus Risotto Recipe:

Ingredients: serves 4-6

• 4 & 1/2 cups of vegetable or chicken broth
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 4 green onions
• 1 cup Arborio/sushi/white medium-grain rice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 pounds asparagus (about 12 large spears)
• 8 medium sized white mushrooms (optional)
• 3 TBSP unsalted butter (optional, but recommended)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, boil the broth.
2. While waiting, chop the green onions, asparagus (into 2 inch pieces), and mushrooms. For the asparagus, trim the edges. 
3. Then, in a large pot, heat the oil. Add green onions and rice. Stir these ingredients until rice has slightly browned. 
4. Once the rice has browned, stir in the broth, 1/2 cup at a time. Each time you add the broth, make sure you stir it until it has soaked up all the broth before adding more. When you've finished adding the broth, continue stirring  for about 15 minutes. 
5. After the 15 minutes, add the asparagus, mushrooms, butter, and Parmesan and stir for about 5 minutes more, or until rice is al dente and asparagus is tender-crisp.

Notes:

- If you prefer more porridge-y risotto, you can add hot water until desired consistency is reached. 

- Before serving, I suggest sprinkling a bit of black pepper on top

Calories per serving (including butter and mushrooms):

When serving 4: 274 calories

When serving 6: 182 calories

Adapted from MyRecipes

What's your favorite part about spring?

My favorite part is the abundance of new veggies and the feeling of almost being finished with the school year :) 

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