Risotto agli Asparagi

Name: Risotto agli Asparagi
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: 500 g asparagus; 320 g Vialone Nano rice (or Carnaroli); 1 small white onion, finely diced; 150 ml dry white wine (Soave or Pinot Grigio); 1.2 litres hot light chicken or vegetable stock; 50 g cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes; 60 g Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated; 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil; 1 tsp fine sea salt; 0.5 tsp white pepper

Venetian spring asparagus risotto: the tender stalks stirred into a loose, creamy Vialone Nano rice with white wine, the bright tips folded in at the last moment so they hold their colour and snap, finished with a generous mantecare of cold butter and aged Parmigiano

Origin: Venice and the Veneto, Italy

From the journey of Asparagus.

The risotto agli asparagi is one of the great spring dishes of the Veneto. The asparagus harvest in this region runs from April through June, when green asparagus from the fields around Padua, Verona, and the lagoon edges of Venice begins appearing at the Rialto market. The Venetian risotto tradition favours Vialone Nano rice: a semi-fine variety with a firm, small grain that absorbs stock more readily than Arborio and produces a looser, more flowing risotto (cooked all'onda, 'in waves'). The preparation demands respect for the asparagus itself: the stalks are cooked into the risotto, their starches thickening and flavouring the rice, while the tips are added only at the end, folded in gently to preserve their vivid colour and just-tender bite. The asparagus poaching water and the stock become the base liquid, concentrating the vegetable's flavour into every grain. The final mantecatura, the vigorous stirring of cold butter and grated Parmigiano off the heat, is what makes a Venetian risotto: the emulsification of fat into starch creates the glossy, creamy consistency that should fall off the spoon in one continuous wave rather than sitting in a mound.

Ingredients

Vegetable

500 g asparagus

Rice

320 g Vialone Nano rice (or Carnaroli)

Aromatics

1 small white onion, finely diced

Liquid

150 ml dry white wine (Soave or Pinot Grigio)
1.2 litres hot light chicken or vegetable stock

Fat

50 g cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Cheese

60 g Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated

Seasoning

1 tsp fine sea salt
0.5 tsp white pepper

Method

Prepare the asparagus: snap off the woody ends at their natural breaking point. Reserve the tips (the top 5cm) and roughly chop the remaining stalks. Simmer the stalks in 500ml of lightly salted water for 10 minutes to make an asparagus stock. Drain, reserving the cooking water, and blend the stalks to a smooth purée. Pass through a sieve.
Add the asparagus cooking water to your hot stock. Keep the combined stock at a gentle simmer in a separate pot throughout the cooking process.
In a wide, heavy sauté pan, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook gently for 6–8 minutes until completely soft and translucent: not coloured. Add the rice and stir for 2 minutes until every grain is coated and the edges of the grains begin to look slightly translucent.
Pour in the white wine and stir continuously until it has been completely absorbed: 1–2 minutes. The alcohol should cook off and leave only a light acidity.
Begin adding the hot stock one ladleful at a time, stirring continuously after each addition and waiting until the liquid has been absorbed before adding the next. Maintain a steady vigorous stir: this is what creates the creamy texture by releasing the starch from the rice.
After 12–14 minutes, when the rice is about halfway cooked (still chalky at the centre when you bite a grain), stir in the asparagus purée. Continue adding stock and stirring.
In the last 3 minutes of cooking, add the reserved asparagus tips. Stir them gently to incorporate without breaking them. The rice is ready when it is al dente with a very slight resistance at the centre and the consistency flows slowly off the spoon (all'onda).
Remove the pan completely from the heat. Add the cold butter cubes and Parmigiano all at once. Stir vigorously, almost beating, for 1 full minute until the butter and cheese have been fully emulsified into the rice. Season with salt and white pepper.
Serve immediately on warm plates. A risotto waits for no one: the starch continues to absorb and stiffen after the pan comes off the heat.

Notes

Vialone Nano is the native rice of the Veneto and is specifically suited to this dish: its small, firm grain absorbs stock quickly and produces a looser, more flowing risotto than Arborio. If unavailable, Carnaroli is the best substitute. The asparagus purée step is optional but highly recommended for depth of flavour and colour. Without it, this is still a beautiful risotto; with it, it becomes deeply and specifically asparagus.

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Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control