This is Lovely: Lemony-Asparagus Risotto

We are slowly but surely cleaning out the contents of my parents fridge. However, doing this has it drawbacks, because we're simply running out of ingredients. Luckily, we had enough on hand for this yummy risotto. Risotto is fantastic, because you can basically make it using ingredients in the pantry, and add in whatever veggies/flavours you've got on hand. We had asparagus.

Here's how to make it. You need:
1 heaping cup of arborio rice (you must use a short grain rice)
900 ml (give or take) stock (chicken, or veggie)
1 medium shallot (or a small onion), diced
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup of white wine (whatever's going)...or more if you feel so inclined
15 asparagus stalks (depending on the size of the asparagus), cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp butter (or more...I probably used 2)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Bring the stock to a simmer, and keep it warm over low heat, before you start cooking the risotto.

In a large sauce pan, heat up the olive oil (medium-high), and then cook the shallots for a couple minutes.
Next, add the rice, stir to coat each grain with the oil, and toast for one or two minutes.

Now, add the wine, and stir. From now on, you're pretty much stirring all the time, so I'd suggest you have everything else ready to go (mis en place, for my foodie friends).

Once the rice has absorbed the wine, add two ladels of the hot stock. Stir. Keep stiring until the stock is absorbed.

**the purpose of the stirring is to release the starches in the rice, hence why risotto is creamy (ugh I hate the word creamy)

After the stock is absorbed, add another ladel of stock and add in the aparagus stalks, but not the tips. The tips cook faster, so you can add them closer to the end. Keep stirring.

Keep adding the stock (a few more rounds of add, stir, absorb), and then taste the rice. If it's still crunchy, add more stock. Don't forget to stir, stir, stir. Now add the asparagus tips and let things cook for a little longer.

Once the rice is tender (shudder, another awful word), just make sure there's enough liquid in there so that it's not the texture of Granny's oatmeal (read: too thick). Stir in the lemon zest.

Note: you may not end up using all the stock, and that's a-ok. Turn off the heat.

The final two steps are crucial because they add such yumminess. One: Add in the butter and mix it around until it's melted. Two: Add in the parm and mix that in as well. Now you should have one creamy (ugh) pile of deliciousness.