Wednesday, April 06, 2016

G'Day Curtis Stone!
I brought you Asparagus Parmesan Risotto

What a week! We took last Friday and Monday off to give us a long weekend. In addition to having fun - riding to Dothan, gardening and relaxing - we also had to deal with the horrific aftermath of too much rain. I mean lots and lots of rain. It came up on the patio and stayed there. It flooded out or septic system and we had a mess to deal with. But it was more fun stuff than nasty stuff so I consider us lucky.

So, talking about good things let me share a great recipe I discovered on Curtis Stone's website. I was not familiar with this Aussie chef until I checked out I ♥ Cooking Club. This is their first week cooking his recipes and they are hosting a welcoming party.

Behold out the fluffy pearly textures of Arborio rice. It was so nice to make. So relaxing to stand and stir, letting my mind drift off as I poured spoons of wine and broth in the mixture.

risotto2

This has some of our favorites - onions, garlic, white wine and lots of asparagus. You don't add the asparagus until near the end so it cooks just perfectly. Not too crispy, not too limp. It's just the perfect texture.

risotto3

I'm going to look into more of Stone's recipes since this one went so well. Here is the recipe. I hope you all are having a good week and good times in the kitchen!


Asparagus Parmesan Risotto

About 5 cups store-bought vegetable stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 shallots, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 cups Arborio rice
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 pounds thin asparagus, woody ends removed, stalks cut into 1 1/2-inch lengths
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, cut in small pieces
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, shaved with a vegetable peeler, for garnish

risotto1


Method

Bring the vegetable stock to a simmer in a large saucepan. Reduce the heat to very low and keep the stock on the heat.

Heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots, garlic, and thyme, and sauté for 2 minutes, or until the shallots are tender but not browned. Add the rice and sauté for 30 seconds to coat with the oil. Stir in the wine and cook for 3 minutes,or until it is absorbed.

Add 3/4 cup of the hot vegetable stock and cook, stirring constantly, until it has absorbed. Continue adding the hot stock, 3/4 cup at a time, stirring until each addition has been absorbed, for about 22 minutes, or until the rice is al dente (the center of each grain of rice should still be slightly firm).

Add the asparagus and continue to cook for 2 minutes. Discard the thyme stems (the thyme leaves should have fallen off the stems and into the risotto). Remove the risotto from the heat, and add the butter, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, and mascarpone cheese. Stir until the butter has melted. Stir in the parsley, mint, and lemon juice, and season the risotto generously with salt and pepper.

Divide the risotto among 4 warmed serving bowls. Garnish with the shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano, and serve.

Recipe may also be found HERE at Curtis Stone's website.

I am sharing this with I ♥ Cooking Club and Beth Fish's Weekend Cooking Series.

Curtis Stone Badge Resized

29 comments:

  1. I love risotto when someone else makes it but I can see how it would be fun to make. I love Curtis Stone but I'm not sure I've ever tried any of his recipes. This looks delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you, Katherine. I will definitely try more receives by Curtis, I had not been familiar with him before. I would be glad to make you risotto. Anytime ☺️

    ReplyDelete
  3. HI Tina:)
    Oh gosh, I'm sorry to hear about all that flooding. I was wondering how you were doing but quite frankly, I thought it was over a while ago. I was so wrong!!! Well, at least you're looking at the bright side:)

    Your Asparagus Parmesan Risotto looks amazing. I smiled to myself when you wrote about standing and stirring and letting your mind drift. I do the same thing when making pudding and would do the same thing if I spent some time making this amazing looking risotto.

    I've seen a few of Curtis Stone's recipes while flitting about online and I remember thinking to myself that I was impressed. I may just need to check out the rest of the Cooking Club posts.

    Thank you so much for sharing Tina...

    BTW, Cookbook Wednesday restarted today. You are more than welcome to join us:)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Louise, we had been getting so much rain over the last Two week period, the ground just couldn't absorb anymore. Plus our home is situated on some awful clay like soil. Not all of it but enough that we can't tolerate too much of the heavy unrelenting rains. Oh yes, do go check out the other cooking posts at I heart cooking club. Looks like Cutis will be a hit.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The weather has been so weird. It was like spring and then it got cold. I am eager to cook with some spring vegetables. Asparagus is a great idea. Love making risotto, for one or a big crowd. Glad to see that it went well with your company.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love risotto, but almost never make it myself. You've convinced me to give this a try!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I've been a fan of Curtis Stone for years (don't you watch The Biggest Loser?). I've never tried risotto though but I love all the other ingredients so I may give this a try.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Flour: it was very good and surely it can be a side or main dish. That's another thing I love about risotto?

    JoAnn: I promise, this one is super easy!

    Vicki: this is my first experience with Chrtis Stome's recipes. So far I like him! We don't have any television feed so I have not seen The Biggest Loser. People at work talks about it though.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Have loved Curtis Stone for years when he first had his TV show Take Home Chef in 2006! Could listen to him talk forever! Not hard on the eyes either.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I've only cooked risotto once and everyone felt a bit "meh" about the results so I haven't attempted it again but this sounds so good! And rich! I might try it! And I LOVE asparagus...even if those other guys at home will pick it out of the risotto. Sigh.

    Sorry about the rain troubles but going riding sounds lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Jackie, I look forward to trying more of his recipes. He is a but handsome, isn't he 😊

    Trish, oh yes, try it again and plop a good tablespoon of cream cheese in it at the end of cook time. So good! We were supposed to ride today but an unexpected visit to the veterinarian had us way behind schedule. Maybe tomorrow

    ReplyDelete
  12. So glad you had a long weekend and enjoyed a ride to Dothan, but the RAIN!! Holy cow.

    This is gorgeous risotto, Tina. Perfect for spring and even better with that luscious bit of mascarpone(one of my favorite ingredients).

    ReplyDelete
  13. You've nailed what I enjoy about making risotto, standing there stirring, mind drifting, spooning in wine and broth, stirring. And the lovely finished dish.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Your pictures make me hungry. I don't recall ever combining rice with asparagus, but now that I see it, I want to try it. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  15. This looks delicious and my favorite foods too, rice, cheese, asparagus. I will have to add it to my list.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Cheesy rice and asparagus sounds like a perfect dish to me!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thanks so much, Ladies! I enjoyed making it very much!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I've only had risotto once and never made it myself. This recipe sounds heavenly though - and with fresh asparagus plentiful at the market, I think I will try preparing it sometime this week.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Glad the good outweighed the bad!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Mmmmmm! This is such a bowl of comfort food with a Springtime jazz-up! Love me some asparagus come April and May!

    ReplyDelete
  21. And he's cute too! Cheers from Carole's Chatter!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Glad you enjoyed cooking with Curtis this week. Definitely try more of his recipes--it's great he has so many recipes online to go through. I am such a risotto fan and I call the stirring my "zen time" because it gives me time to think, or not think--depending on my mood. ;-) I definitely need to try this one with some nice local asparagus.

    ReplyDelete
  23. His recipes are very clean ... do you know what I mean? No unnecessary ingredients - you get exactly what you are expecting. Yet another delicious looking meal.
    The clean up after the rain sounds horrible - heres hoping the weather will be kinder to you all.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Looks very clean, healthy, and delicious. I love how these simple ingredients can transform into a great meal.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I await the local aparagus season. In Germany we prefer the asparagus, the very early harvest began last week. This dish is worth to try

    ReplyDelete
  26. Too much rain over there and we are wishing for more rain over here! The weather has been really hot and due to the heat wave, schools in some states have been ordered to close for several days!
    Your risotto looks delicious! I love how fresh and green the asparagus look in the creamy risotto!

    ReplyDelete
  27. I am just getting to know Curtis Stone's recipes and so far I am impressed. thanks so much for the great comments, I appreciate that much. Wish I could send some of this rain to you all who need it. I'm not welcoming it anymore.

    ReplyDelete
  28. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  29. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete

Welcome and thank you so much for visiting. If I don't answer you here I will get back to you on your blog. Also have had to switch to approving comments due to some SPAM lately. Alas...

It's been a good run...........