Asparagus Risotto with grilled goat’s cheese
Asparagus Risotto is one of the joys of Spring. But my version takes it to the super-luxury level with a golden, melting grilled goat’s cheese topping.
The season for British asparagus is short. So I make the most of it with generous amounts of the chopped spears in the creamy risotto plus charred asparagus tips scattered over the cheesy topping.
Fantastic as a vegetarian main course, Asparagus Risotto is just as good as a starter or side dish.
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The British asparagus season is something I look forward to every year. While supermarkets have the imported stuff from Mexico, Peru etc. all year round, I wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole. Apart from the environmental cost of flying such foodstuffs around the world, the flavour is so inferior, I really don’t think it’s worth the bother.
However, when I can get freshly picked, UK grown asparagus I’ll eat as much of it as I can get! If you want to go really simple, then lightly simmering or steaming the spears then dousing with butter is all you need to do. Flavoured butters go well with asparagus too: try Miso Butter or pair it with another Spring favourite: Wild Garlic Butter.
To intensify the flavour, I often quickly pan-fry the lightly cooked spears in olive oil, butter, or both, over high heat. This gives them a charred edge and makes them a great side dish to so many meals.
But asparagus doesn’t have to be just a side dish. Every Spring I make at least one Asparagus Risotto. Putting this wonderful seasonal treat centre stage, as well as asparagus in the risotto, I always put charred spears on top too. However, this year I decided to take it to super-luxury level with a topping of bubbling, golden, grilled goat’s cheese.
To be honest, I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of it before. For years I’ve been making an amazing Creamy Mushroom Risotto finished with a grilled brie topping. And now it’s asparagus’s turn.
ASPARAGUS RISOTTO
To make the luxury version, we start in exactly the same way as for my ‘standard’ asparagus risotto (although I’m hesitant to call it ‘standard’ as it’s still amazingly good). I first cut off the tender tips which I briefly simmer then quickly cool in iced water. These will be pan-fried and scattered over the risotto just before serving. The remainder of the spears I cut into discs around half a centimetre thick.
Then I sauté onion, celery, and garlic in a mixture of olive oil and butter. When they’re starting to soften, the slices of asparagus are stirred in and cooked for a few minutes, followed by risotto rice. By the way, don’t think about attempting this recipe with anything other than risotto rice, though. You’ll end up with a nasty, sticky mess rather than a creamy, delicious delight.
I like to add a glass of white wine next, but it isn’t absolutely necessary. After the wine’s bubbled and reduced to almost nothing you can start adding chicken or vegetable stock.
A RISOTTO MYTH DEBUNKED
At this point, let’s deal with a myth about making risotto. We’re usually told that we must add stock a little at a time, stirring for ages and ages. But that’s not entirely true.Although some regions of Italy make a dryish risotto like that, in the Veneto, for example, they prefer a soupier style and add the stock all at once.
Myself, I fall between the two camps. I don’t want a dry risotto or a soup. So I add the stock gradually, but not by the traditional ladleful. For me, it’s more like two ladles at a time at first, then larger quantities once the rice is well on the way to being al dente. I find this strikes the right balance between achieving a creamy texture and my natural impatience.
Exactly how much stock you need will depend on how high your heat is and how moist you like your risotto. For the 180 grams of rice used in this recipe, I have around 900 millilitres of hot stock on hand. I rarely find I need it all though.
When the rice is well on the way to being cooked, but not quite there, I add a generous amount of double cream plus the zest of half a lemon for a bit of zing. This is bubbled until nicely reduced. If the rice still seems a little hard, I add a dash more stock and keep gently bubbling.
FINISHING TOUCHES
We’ll need to rest the risotto before serving and it will continue to cook a little during this time. It will also absorb more of the stock and cream. So it’s best that it’s still a little loose and a very teeny bit underdone at this point.
Before putting on a lid, we add a few more goodies. The other half of the zest from a lemon, Parmesan cheese, and butter for extra richness. I had some Wild Garlic Butter to hand so used that. Yum!
While the risotto rests for five to ten minutes, you can be getting on with those luxury final touches. Heat your grill to high and slice up some rinded goat’s cheese into thick rounds. Don’t be mean with it.
In a frying pan, heat up more butter (can you tell I like butter? 😁) with a touch of olive oil to stop it burning. Finally, when the risotto’s rested, lay the goat’s cheese slices over the surface and put under the grill until browned and bubbling.
While that’s happening, toss the part-cooked asparagus tips into the pan, frying and turning until a little charred all over. To serve, place the asparagus tips on top of the risotto, plus any juices from the pan.
SUPER LUXURY ASPARAGUS RISOTTO
Chock-full of a vegetable that, eaten in season, is always a treat, I think my Asparagus Risotto with grilled goat’s cheese really is super-luxurious. Creamy but intensely savoury and with a hint of lemon, its toasty, cheesy topping is incredibly good.
Treat yourself to a bowlful as a main course with salad on the side or serve in smaller portions as a starter or side dish. Don’t like goat’s cheese? Swap in brie, camembert, or leave off. I think you’ll still agree this is a very special risotto that celebrates one of our best seasonal vegetables.
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Asparagus Risotto with grilled goat's cheese
Asparagus is one of the joys of Spring. Here it's taken to super-luxury level in a creamy risotto with a topping of grilled goat's cheese plus a scattering of butter-fried asparagus tips.
Ingredients
- 500-750 g asparagus spears see Recipe Note #1
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 40 g butter divided in half: see Recipe Note #2
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 2 sticks celery finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- salt and black pepper
- 180 g risotto rice e.g. carnaroli, arborio
- 125 ml dry white wine
- 900 ml hot stock chicken or vegetable
- 1 lemon zest only
- 150 ml double cream
- 30 g Parmesan cheese finely grated
Topping
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 20 g butter
- 200 g rinded goat's cheese sliced
- Parmesan cheese for sprinkling
Instructions
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Cut off and discard the tough ends of the asparagus spears.
Cut off the tips of the asparagus (usually the top 5-6 cm). Halve any very thick pieces along their length. Put in a pan of boiling water with a little salt. Cook for 2 minutes, drain, then immediately put in a bowl of iced water to stop further cooking. When cold, drain again and set aside.
Slice the rest of the asparagus spears into discs approximately 5mm thick.
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Put the olive oil and 20g of the butter in a large sauté or frying pan and put on a moderate heat.
Add the onion, celery and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring regularly until the vegetables are starting to soften (12-20 min).
Add the asparagus slices (not the tips) to the pan and cook for a further 3 minutes.
Stir in the rice and cook for 1 minute.
Add the white wine and bubble until almost all of it has evaporated.
Add approx 200ml of the stock and stir well. Continue to cook until almost all of this stock has evaporated, stirring often. Add another 200ml of stock and repeat the process with further additions until the rice seems almost cooked (20-25 min).
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Stir in the lemon zest and double cream then continue cooking until reduced by half. If the rice still seems some way from being cooked, add a little more stock and cook some more, stirring and tasting the rice often. Don't let the risotto get dry as it will soak up further liquid as it rests at the end of the next step.
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When the rice is done, take the pan off the heat, taste and add more salt & pepper if needed.
Stir in the remaining 20g of butter plus the Parmesan. Put on a lid and leave to rest 5-10 min.
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While the risotto is resting, heat a grill to high. Put a frying pan over medium high heat and add the olive oil and butter for the topping.
Lay the slices over goat's cheese over the top of the risotto and put the pan under the grill until the cheese is browned and bubbling.
Meanwhile, add the cooked asparagus tips to the hot oil and butter, season with black pepper and cook until lightly charred.
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Serve the risotto with the charred asparagus tips on top plus a sprinkling of Parmesan.
Recipe Notes
Note #1 Bunches of asparagus typically weigh around 250g. While you could make this risotto with 2 bunches, 3 is even better.
Note #2 Half of the butter is used to sauté the vegetables, the other half is stirred into the risotto before resting it. If you have any Wild Garlic Butter, then replacing the second half with this is excellent.
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