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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
Serve the risotto with the charred asparagus tips on top plus a sprinkling of Parmesan.
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.