Risotto is perhaps an ideal base for almost any vegetable used in Italian dishes. It is worth tasting when it has flowing consistency and draws off from the spoon into the bowl. Risotto is preferred for its creamy texture and most of us feel that it originates from the inclusion of parmesan cheese and butter.

Although this can be true when you eat risotto outside where chefs use different ways to do so, the fact is that it is the arborio rice’s natural starch that delivers such smoothness. This starch is of its kernel, which when coupled with the patient cooking art, triggers the magic. The gradual mixing releases starch, which finally binds with the water or stock to form a soft touch, without using much butter or cheese.

Nevertheless, if you still wish to cook risotto in a traditional way by adding some butter and parmesan, you can go ahead if you are on detoxification or weight loss schedule. No matter how you choose to cook from the aforementioned ways, the tangy flavor of lemon and the bright tang of the fresh seasonal asparagus is bound to give you a gratifying meal.

Servings: 4

Approximate Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Approximate Cooking Time: 25 minutes

Per Serving: Fat – 13.1g, Protein -12.8g, Carb – 67.2g, Fiber – 10g

Ingredients

• Carnaroli or Arborio rice – 1 cup
• Homemade vegetable stock – 6 cups
• Olive oil – 1/4 cup
• Finely chopped small onion – 1
• Dry white wine – 1/2 cup
• Cut stalks of asparagus into length of 2 inches -1 bunch
• Thawed frozen peas – 1 cup
• Grated lemon zest – 1 teaspoon plus and a few more for decoration
• Fresh lemon juice – 2 tablespoons
• Chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves – 1 cup
• Finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano – 1/2 cup along with some more grated quantity for serving
• Crude salt
• Fresh ground pepper

Cooking Instructions

1. Simmer the 6-cup stock in a medium-sized saucepan.
2. In other saucepan, add and cook 2 tablespoons of olive oil and onion. Stir the mix until 7 minutes or it becomes soft. Then, pour rice and stir it until three minutes or its rims becomes lucid. Finally, add wine and stir well until it goes away from your sight.
3. Now, pour half cup hot stock in the pan having rice mix and stir it well until it seems to be almost absorbed.
4. Repeat step 3 until the rice and liquid both become creamy or for 20 minutes at the most. You need not pour all the stock.
5. Now, add asparagus along with peas and left over stock, just about a minute before the dish is ready for serving.
6. Now, take the pan away from heat, add and stir parsley, lemon juice and zest, cheese, and the left out oil.
7. Finally, add salt and pepper, and serve right away with more lemon zest and additional cheese.

For a healthier touch, you can consider adding pearl barley richer in fiber, instead of Arborio rice.

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