Believe it or not, we made Risotto on a week night!  What would have been opening night of A’s musical was cancelled at the last minute due to a fire in the building next to her school.  The school had a rapid dismissal because it looked like the Red Cross was going to need the building to provide medical aid to those injured.  Luckily, no one sustained serious injuries, and as a result of the cancellation, A found herself home extra early.

Fairway is mid-way between home and where Z works, so we met there and let our cravings decide our dinner plans and it worked.  We saw some good looking asparagus and came up with the recipe below.

Asparagus and Portobello Risotto

Medium large bunch of asparagus cut in 1/2 in. pieces (about 2 c chopped)

2 shallots

2 large Portobello caps (about 3/4 lb)

1 cup risotto

5 cups veggie broth

1 cup white wine

1/2 cup grated Piave

3/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

4 tbsp butter

4 tbsp olive oil

Start slicing the asparagus into 1/2 in. pieces.  Then slice the Portobello caps into 1/2 in. by 1 in. pieces.  Chop the shallots.

Combine the broth and wine in a saucepan and keep it warming over low heat. We ended up using, probably only 4 cups of the mixture, but we always like to have more than less.

Melt 2 tbsp of butter and 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large sautee pan.  Toss in the mushrooms and 1/2 tsp of fresh ground pepper.  Allow them to soften.

Once the mushrooms are softening, melt 2 tbsp of butter and 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large sautee pan.  Sautee the shallots for about 1 minutes and then add the arborio rice and 1/4 tsp of salt.  Get it fully coated with the butter/olive oil mixture and cook over low heat for about 3 minutes.  Then start ladling the broth in, one ladle-full at a time.  Don’t allow the broth to boil and don’t allow it to ever cook off fully.  Add  another ladle full when it is getting close to being cooked off.

After the risotto is getting cooked, add the asparagus into the mushrooms with an extra 1/4 tsp of fresh ground black pepper.

Once the risotto is a few minutes away from al dente add the veggies to it.  Continue to ladle and cook it.  Add the Piave right before you take it off the stove top.  Serve with a little extra Piave on top and enjoy!

We wouldn’t normally suggest it for a week-night dinner since the prep takes some time, but we were pleased with the results and grateful for the unexpected opportunity.

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