Waste Not ~ Want Not

Dealing with leftovers can be challenging and is often boring at best.  Eating the same thing day after day can be trying regardless of how fantastic the original meal.  Sometimes the opportunity presents itself to make a new dish from the remnants of another, which is what we did today.  The leftover grilled asparagus from last night's dinner was the centerpiece of a spectacular spring risotto.
 

Lemon Asparagus Risotto
Serves Four

2 T olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 cup arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
~5 cups vegetable stock
 1 bunch asparagus, grilled, chilled and diced
1 T freshly grated lemon zest
1/4 cup Parmesan, finely grated
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat; add onions and saute till golden.  Add rice and stir till well coated.  Add wine, stirring frequently, till all the liquid is absorbed.  Add the stock one cup at at time, stirring frequently, till all the liquid is absorbed with each addition.  After you've added 3 cups of stock, stir in the lemon zest, the Parmesan and the asparagus.  Continue adding stock (stirring frequently, etc.) till rice is al dente.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve hot topped with shaved Parmesan.


This recipe is loosely based on Risotto alle Punte di Asparago from Riso: Undiscovered Rice Dishes of Northern Italy by Gioietta Vitale, page 74.

We paired this risotto with a 2007 Trimbach Riesling ~ gorgeous.