It wasn’t very long ago that I made risotto for the first time. And I’ve been in love ever since. I will admit that I was a bit intimidated by the process at first, and I don’t make it often because of the time it takes, but I enjoy it so much when I do make it. I like to consider it a special side dish, and it’s a treat wheneven I get to eat it. When I opened up the Pampered Chef Eat Fresh, Eat Healthy cookbook, this was the first recipe and I almost drooled on the page! Risotto with a hint of saffron and asparagus?!?! Yes, please and thank you!! I paired it with the Cracker-Crusted Chicken and it made a refreshing meal.
You should definitely add this to your menu for your next Risotto treat 🙂
Saffron & Asparagus Risotto
Source: Pampered Chef – Make It Fresh, Make It Healthy
Ingredients
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3 cups chicken stock
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1/4 tsp saffron threads
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3 medium shallots
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1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
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1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
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3/4 cup dry white wine
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1/2 lb fresh asparagus spears, trimmed and into 1-in pieces
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2 oz Parmesan cheese, grated, divided
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1/2 tsp salt
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1 oz reduced-fat cream cheese
Preparation
- Bring broth and saffron to a simmer over medium heat in a 1 1/2 quart saucepan. Reduce heat to low.
- Meanwhile, finely chop shallots. Heat oil in a skillet, add shallots and cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.
- Add rice, cook and stir for 1 minute or until rice is evenly coated with oil.
- Add the wine and cook 3-4 minutes or until the wine is absorbed, stirring frequently.
- Using a ladle, pour 1/2 cup of broth into the skillet and cook 2-3 minutes, or until the broth is absorbed, stirring constantly.
- Repeat this process 4 more times, leaving you with 1/2 cup of the broth left.
- Add the last 1/2 cup of broth, the asparagus, 1/3 cup of Parmesan, salt & pepper. Cook 3-4 minutes until the asparagus is crisp tender, stirring occasionally.
- Remove skillet from the heat, add cream cheese and stir until incorporated.
- Sprinkle Parmesan on top and serve!
Don't you just LOVE this recipe?!?!?! It is SO good! I wanted to let you know that I featured your recipe post on my site, here: http://tracystreasury.com/drmom/nutrition/cookbooks/cookbooks.html . I did a post on “My Top Choices of Cookbooks to ROCK Your Socks OFF!” and one of them was “Make it Fresh, Make it Healthy” that this recipe came from. Thanks for sharing! 😀
Thank you so much Tracy! And yes, it IS delicious!