I met up with a close friend on Tuesday after not seeing her for almost a month. As soon as she saw me, the first thing she said was "gosh! you gained weight!" hmm...Thanks and I missed you too? What can I say? I love food! Well, I would also love to get myself fit into that tight little pair of faux leather legging I got last fall. With that in mind, I digged out my yoga mat and headed to my hot yoga studio for the most challenging class after two weeks' absence. The result? disgustedly sweatily satisfied and energized! So I decided to make a delicious asparagus risotto and bake some fish for dinner to reward myself. Yes, food again.
The recipe I followed this time is from The Silver Spoon (a new cookbook I got from BMV on Bloor street last Sunday) with few changes. I added some sugar peas (that had been sitting in the fridge for quite a few days and I had completely lost the original cooking inspirations that I had in mind when I decided to buy them in the grocery store) and also I added zest from 1 lemon to bring some citrusy zesting excitement to this traditional spring dish. My only mistake that I made this time? After the rice was done, I moved the pan to another burner that I forgot to turn off. And it was already a little bit too late when I finally noticed the rice was getting dryer. Oh well..Bon Appetit!
RISOTTO CON PUNTE DI ASPARAGI
Asparagus risotto (Recipe is from The Silver Spoon by Phaidon Press)
Serves 4
1 pound 2 ounces asparagus, spears trimmed
6 1/4 cups vegetable stock
5 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cups risotto rice
salt
Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, to serve
- Cook the asparagus in a pot of salted, boiling water for 10-12 minutes until tender, then drain and cut off and reserve the spears. Chop the stems and set aside.
- Bring the vegetable stock to boil
- Meanwhile, melt 1tbsp butter in a skillet, add the asparagus spears and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and set aside.
- Melt 2tbsp butter with the olive oil in a pan , add onion and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the rice and cook, sirring, until the grains are coated in fat, then add the chopped asparagus stems.
- Add a ladleful of the hot stock and cook, stirring, until it has been absorbed. Continue adding the stock, a ladleful at a time, and stirring until it has been absorbed. This will take 18-20 minutes.
- When the rice is tender, stir in the remaining butter and the asparagus spears. Serve with Parmesan
Finally spring is here to stay in Toronto. After a really long winter of pasta and stew and more pasta and stew, my taste buds are yearning for even more green and vibrant elements than my eyes do. So last week I made this Black Cod with Olives and Potatoes in Parchment as a start of eating more light and healthy meals. (Recipe can be found here: 
