Asparagus Lemon Risotto

Spring arrived for real this week and I can tell because the smell of the air through the kitchen window on Tuesday morning was something entirely different from what it has been since November: warmer and alive with the particular green smell that belongs to the ground when it is waking up. I stood at the sink for a long moment with the window open and just breathed it, which is not an efficient use of time and which I did anyway because efficiency is not always the point and spring air is one of the things that is worth inefficiency.

The pantry deep-clean happened Sunday, the spring version, which is the mirror of the fall deep-clean: removing the heavy winter ingredients (dried beans in large quantities, various slow cooker additions, four kinds of barley) and restocking for spring (more vinegars, more citrus, more of the ingredients that go into the lighter meals I am already planning). I donated two bags of canned goods to the bishop's storehouse food drive because the pantry had more than we needed and Gary Cooper's daughter does not hold onto more than she needs when someone else needs what she has.

The Why I Started section of the Freezer Meal Mom document is eight paragraphs now. I read it back Friday and it is the most honest writing I have ever done, more honest than my journal because the journal knows it has no audience and honesty for an audience is a different kind. It is also terrifying in the way that honest things are terrifying: once they are written they are real in a way they were not before, and real things can be seen. I am not ready for it to be seen yet. But I am writing it anyway.

Olivia asked me Wednesday what I was working on on my laptop. I said: a document about cooking. She said: is it about the workshops? I said: yes, and something else. She said: the something else looks like it is the part you keep stopping on. I said: you are correct. She said: is it about Grace? I said: some of it. She said: okay. She went back to her homework. Olivia is twelve and she asks the right questions and accepts the answers without pressure, which is exactly the thing she needs to be in this family and exactly what she is.

After I moved the last bag of barley out of the pantry and lined up the new bottle of white wine vinegar and the extra lemons on the shelf, I knew what I was making for dinner—something that actually used those lemons, something that had asparagus in it, something that felt like the smell coming through the kitchen window. Asparagus lemon risotto has been the unofficial opener of spring at our table for years now: it takes enough attention at the stove that you have to be present for it, which is sometimes exactly the instruction I need, and it is the kind of meal that makes the people eating it quiet in a good way. Olivia had two helpings and did not ask what was in it, which is the highest compliment she gives.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 lb fresh asparagus, tough ends trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
4 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup dry white wine
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Zest and juice of 1 large lemon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped, for serving (optional)

Instructions

Warm the broth. Pour the broth into a medium saucepan and set over medium-low heat. Keep it warm but not boiling throughout the cooking process—cold broth added to risotto drops the temperature and breaks the starch.
Sauté the aromatics. Heat the olive oil in a wide, heavy-bottomed pot or deep skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more, until fragrant.
Toast the rice. Add the Arborio rice to the pot and stir well to coat every grain with the oil. Toast for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the edges of the grains look slightly translucent and the rice smells faintly nutty.
Deglaze with wine. Pour in the white wine and stir continuously until it is fully absorbed into the rice, about 2 minutes. This is the moment the risotto begins to open up.
Add broth gradually. Add the warm broth one ladleful (about 1/2 cup) at a time, stirring frequently and waiting until each addition is nearly fully absorbed before adding the next. Continue this process for 18 to 20 minutes total, until the rice is creamy, loose, and just barely al dente at the center.
Stir in the asparagus. With about 5 minutes of cooking time remaining, add the asparagus pieces to the pot. Continue adding broth and stirring until the asparagus is just tender and bright green and the rice has finished cooking. Do not overcook—the asparagus should still have a little snap.
Finish and season. Remove the pot from heat. Stir in the butter, Parmesan, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. The risotto should be loose and creamy; if it has tightened up, stir in a small splash of warm broth or water.
Serve immediately. Spoon into wide shallow bowls and top with fresh parsley if using. Risotto waits for no one—bring everyone to the table before you finish the pot.

Nutrition (per serving)

Asparagus Lemon Risotto — The Pantry Turning Toward Spring