Asparagus and shrimp risotto

With the beginning of spring a delicacy comes to the table of the Italian families, asparagus. In Italy it is very common to find it as the main ingredient in a risotto. Due to its sweetness it goes very well with shrimps. Here we go, Asparagus and shrimp risotto.

Ingredients for 2:

risotto rice for 2
250g asparagus
6 medium size shrimps (whole including head and shell)
2 shallots
50g of butter
olive oil, salt & pepper
vegetable broth: 1 carrot 2 stalks of celery
2 small onions

First thing to do when cooking any risotto is to prepare the vegetable broth. We always use fresh vegetables and avoid the industrial bullion. Add carrot, celery and onion in a pot with cold water (it is important that the water is cold at the beginning, in order to get the most flavor from the vegetables). Let the broth boil at medium fire throughout the entire recipe.

While the broth boils we can prepare the asparagus cream. Cut the tips of the asparagus and put them aside, peal the stalks and cut in small pieces. Chop the shallots in small pieces and let it fry gently in a pan with oil and butter. Once the shallot is soft, add the asparagus stalks in pieces and let it cook for about 10 minutes until soft. At last add a ladle of boiling vegetable broth and let it cook for another 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper and transfer the asparagus on a tall container for immersion mixer. Add another ladle of broth and mix it until it becomes a cream. Set it aside for later.

Now it's time to clean the shrimps. Remove the heads and the shell and set it aside (don't throw them away). Remove the interiors from the shrimps and cut it in small pieces (each schrimp in 4 pieces) and set them aside.

Now we prepare a light "bisque" with the heads and the shells. In a pan add olive oil, let it warm up and then add the heads and shells of the shrimps and let it fry for 5 minutes, until they will become red and a cream comes out of the heads. At this point add a ladle of broth and let it simmer for 1 minute. Take the pan out of the fire, filter the sauces in a bowl and set the bisque aside.

In the same pan add the shrimps in pieces and let them fry for 5 minutes until fully cooked (but still tender). Set them aside.

Take the top of the asparagus that we set aside before and slice them in half. Add some olive oil in a pan, let it warm up and add the asparagus top to gently fry for 5 minutes. At the end set them aside.

Now is time to prepare the risotto itself. Chop the second shallot and add it to a large frying pan together with butter and olive oil.

Stew the shallot gently until becomes very soft. At this point add the rice and let it toast for a couple of minutes, stirring continuously. Toasting the rice is important to let the starch come out at the end of the process.

Now add a couple of ladles of broth and keep stirring in order to allow the rice to cook homogeneously. Once the water starts drying out, add other two ladles. After one minute add the shrimp bisque and keep stirring.

Keep adding broth 2/3 times more, every time the water dries out in the pan and keep stirring continuously without stopping.

At this point add the asparagus cream and other two ladles of broth.

After 5 minutes, stirring continuously, taste the rice to check if it is cooked the way you like it. If the rice is ready, turn off the fire (otherwise add more broth). Add salt and pepper and a notch of butter. Mix all together until the butter is fully melted and stir vigorously in order to let the starch come out of the rice. Now cover the pan with a lid for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes, use a ladle to take the rice from the pan and serve it in a flat plate. Put the rice in the middle of the plate and then tap the plate from the bottom to allow the rice to spread. At this point add the pieces of shrimps and the top of the asparagus, garnishing the risotto the way you prefer.

Buon appetito!