Green Pea and Lemon Risotto with Roasted Asparagus

I was craving spring...

...so I made a simple pea risotto with a touch of lemon, roasted some asparagus to put on top and covered the whole thing with thick shavings of Parmesan Reggiano.

Green Pea and Lemon Risotto

2-3 shallots, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 TB olive oil
1 cup arborio rice, uncooked
about a 1/2 cup dry white wine
1 quart chicken stock
1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed
juice and zest of half a lemon
2 TB butter
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Reggiano + more shaved for topping

First, get your stock into a spare saucepan and heat it to a simmer on a spare stove burner.  You will need this to be warm later.

Add olive oil to a heavy bottomed medium pan (I used a dutch oven but any sauce pan with good heat distribution will do) over medium heat.  When hot, add shallot and garlic.  Saute until soft.  Add the rice and stir gently until every grain is covered in oil and they begin to go translucent.  Add wine and stir in until absorbed.  Now, begin adding your chicken stock in increments.  I add two or 3 small ladles at at time and stir gently until the rice absorbs it, then add more.  Continue to add the stock for as long as the rice will continue to absorb it.  Taste occasionally for texture.  When the rice is beginning to get soft enough to eat, add the peas and lemon juice and zest.  Continue to cook until risotto is the texture you desire. If you run out of stock before the rice is finished being thirsty, add small amounts of boiling water to supplement it.  When risotto is softly al dente, add butter and parmesan and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Top with a generous portion of shaved Parmesan and a side of roasted asparagus.

Roasted Asparagus

1 bundle of asparagus, trimmed of woodiness, washed and dried
1-2 TB olive oil
juice of half a lemon
grated or shaved Parmesan Reggiano for topping

Heat oven to 425 degrees F.

Place asparagus on a baking pan.  Drizzle with olive oil and roll to coat all sides of the asparagus with oil.  Season with kosher or sea salt.  Place in oven for 8-12 minutes or until they are starting to caramelize lightly.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with lemon juice and Parmesan Reggiano.

Voilà!  Spring!