Asparagus Risotto

This is a good dish for lazy summer evenings. Roasting the asparagus covered in lemon in the oven provides it with a delightfully tangy coating.
 

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of asparagus, washed and tough ends removed by gently bending until they snap
• 4 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp dried mint
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 25g butter
• 200g risotto rice
• 200ml white wine
• 400ml vegetable stock

 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
2. In a bowl combine the asparagus, lemon juice and dried mint and use your hands to make sure it's well coated.
3. Place the asparagus on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until soft.
4. In a large sauce pan fry the onion in the butter over a medium heat until it starts to go soft.
5. Add the risotto rice to the pan and stir well so the rice gets coated in the butter.
6. After about half a minute add the white wine and stir well.
7. Continue to stir the risotto mixture every couple of minutes. When it starts to get dry add 50ml of the vegetable stock.
8. Repeat this process of waiting until the rice has absorbed the liquid before adding more until all the vegetable stock is used up.
9. This should take about 20 minutes and so the asparagus should be nicely roasted now. Remove it from the oven and chop all but two of the spears into 2cm pieces.
10. Stir the chopped asparagus into the risotto and leave for a minute to heat through.
11. Season with fresh black pepper and serve with the whole asparagus spears placed on top.

 
Serves 2.