Make Shrimp Asparagus Risotto Your Easy Go-To Dish for Spring

Spring is here and asparagus is on sale. Eat with the seasons by combining asparagus with shrimp and arborio rice for a no fuss, one dish meal of risotto. Arborio rice releases its starch slowly while simmering with a little liquid added at regular intervals. The result is creamy and delicious. Look for it at an Italian market if your local chain doesn’t carry it. You will need two pots: one on the back burner for simmering a flavorful stock and a smaller one for cooking the risotto.

What will you use for stock? Packaged vegetable or chicken stock would be fine, but here at Karyn’s Kitchen, we waste nothing while looking for more flavor opportunities. So, if you’re using shrimp, put the shells into a pot of water to boil along with any veggie scraps you’ve been saving in the freezer. You will want to have about 4 times as much stock as dry rice to begin. You can always save any remaining stock for later. I always begin risotto with onion, so the ends of the onion go into the boiling water along with the tough, woody ends that I’ve snapped off the asparagus. I decided to add more seafood flavor by putting dried bonito flakes in my stock pot as well. Buy them at a Japanese market and keep in your pantry to make delicious seafood stock anytime.

Preparing the Risotto

Once you’ve got your stock simmering, sauté a chopped onion in some olive oil and butter. Once translucent, add the arborio rice. For two people, I tossed in a few handfuls. (This is one dish that I don’t recommend making more than you intend to eat for one meal because leftovers don’t retain the original texture.) Stir the rice to coat with fat and cook on medium/low heat for a couple of minutes before adding a splash of white wine. Once that has cooked down, add a ladle full of stock, stir and lower heat to simmer. (Because I had all kinds of loose bits floating in my stock, I ladled it through a small strainer. Unnecessary if your stock has already been clarified.)

The remainder of the cooking process is just to repeat, repeat, repeat adding a ladle full of stock, stirring and waiting for it to cook down. Add more stock each time before the mixture has completely dried. When it looks nearly done, taste a kernel and see if it’s tender. Ultimately, you want a toothsome center with a soft exterior. Don’t let it turn into mush. Once it’s just about al dente, which I find takes at least 30 minutes, add the shrimp and chopped asparagus. Both items take just a couple of minutes to cook. Shrimp should turn pink and opaque. Asparagus should turn bright green and remain crisp tender. That’s the way I like it anyway.

Flavoring Shrimp Asparagus Risotto

While your risotto is simmering away, you can explore your spice cabinet and see what flavors will complement what you have going. I chose a pinch of saffron and turmeric. A teaspoon of dried mint and a touch of fresh basil rounded things out. Eyeing a lemon, I decided to finish the dish by stirring in its juice at the end of cooking. You could add the zest of the lemon if you wanted to further brighten it up. Salt to taste.

So, there you have it. If you’re looking for an exact recipe with measurements to follow, you’re in the wrong place. Instead, think about proportions and flavor combinations using available ingredients in order to create a delicious, balanced meal you and your family will love. Start with an anchor ingredient. In this case, it was the fresh asparagus. Find a protein and a grain and have some fun experimenting in the kitchen. I didn’t mind stirring risotto on this occasion, but you could just as well prepare something similar by steaming another item from the pantry such as barley or farro. The choice is yours!

Ingredients For Stock:

• water
• shrimp shells
• bonito flakes:
• asparagus ends
• onion and miscellaneous vegetable ends

Ingredients for Risotto:

• arborio rice
• onion
• butter
• olive oil
• dry white wine
• asparagus
• shrimp
• saffron
• turmeric
• dried mint
• fresh basil
• lemon juice
• salt

What’s your favorite way to prepare asparagus? Try it with a lightened-up version of Beef Stroganoff.