Springtime Risotto

  Heading into our last week or so here in Umbria, the weather has decided to get a little winter-y…again (though the forecast does have a few nice, sunny days showing…). We are very slowly realizing that it rains here in Umbria, on and off, all the time. Explains why it's always so green.

  So, instead of taking a ride somewhere, Johnny is finishing up some paintings here at the apartment, and I'm making a big pot of soup. It smells great, and with the sound of rain, seems very fitting. Plus, I have a chance to write, pay some bills, and just chill out. 

  

  A couple of days ago, on yet another rainy day, I walked to the market to get some ingredients for a springtime risotto. Peas, carrots, asparagus..and carnaroli rice, which I prefer over arborio for risotto. With some nice jazz on the radio and a good fire going,  I had Johnny help me shell the beautiful peas I had bought.

  

Nice to have a kitchen slave…..

Perfect peas, really sweet.

  Even though most of the wild asparagus from the fields and forests in the area are done for this season,  the local markets have the more common asparagus available now. I love how inexpensive they are here, too…makes it easy to have lots around for frittata, pasta, or risotto….

Nice touch of purple.

  Anyway, I like to start with some garlic, carrots and onions…sautéed in olive oil. I save the more tender vegetables to add in near the end. In this case, the asparagus tips and the peas. You don't want to overcook them!

I start cooking up the veggies in olive oil,
just until they are getting "al dente".

 In the meantime, I take all the "unused" bits and use them to make a stock, which I'll add later on.

Way too good to put into the compost just yet.

  

   When the first bits of vegetables are getting good, I take them out and set them aside, so I can add a little more oil to the pot to start with the rice.

Still a little crunchy, but cooked.

  I always throw in the rice, let it cook until it starts to get somewhat "translucent", and then pour in some good white wine. Stir it while the wine gets absorbed by the rice. The wine really adds a nice flavor.

Smells fantastic at this point, too.

  Now, it's just adding a little of the strained stock, maybe a ladle at a time, and let the rice absorb it, then add another ladle, until the rice is almost cooked. We like it still with some bite to it. Not too hard, but not mushy, either. It's easy to go too far with the liquid, and turn up with sticky, gummy rice. It will taste ok, but the texture shouldn't be too soft.

Keep adding and stirring. 

  Near the end, I throw in the rest of the vegetables, as they only need a minute or two to cook. You should be testing the doneness of the rice, so you'll know when to stop adding liquid. You want the risotto to be almost soupy, served in a shallow bowl, with a bit of liquid still.

It gets harder to take photos, because of the steam!
Almost ready to serve!

Mmmmmmmmm….see all the liquid-y goodness still left?
This is what you want.

  Sadly, my "money shot" with the gorgeous risotto, sprinkled with parmesan….came out all blurry. I was too excited to just eat it! But you get the idea. It was perfect, with the peas and asparagus tips still a little crunchy, nice and flavorful. 

  I can't even begin to tell you how much rice or stock I used…enough, that's all I know. I measured the rice in a coffee mug, and have no idea about the stock…I know I used it all, and even had to add a little regular water at the very end. It was great, though. 

  Too great. What was meant to be two dinners….well…it didn't make it past one. Sigh. 

  Really, how could we not eat the whole pot? 

  And yes, the "kilos" are piling back on, friends!! Thank god we love all the walking we get to do while we are here.