Risotto with Asparagus and Pesto
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:Serves 4 to 6
- 7cups well-seasoned chicken or vegetable stock
- 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ½cup minced onion
- Salt to taste
- 1½cups arborio rice
- 1garlic clove, minced
- ½cup dry white wine such as pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc
- ¾pound asparagus, trimmed and cut in 1-inch lengths
- ¼ to ⅓cup pesto, to taste
- 2 to 4tablespoons Parmesan, to taste
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
415 calories; 14 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 55 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 14 grams protein; 1029 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Put well-seasoned stock or broth into a saucepan and bring it to a simmer over low heat, with a ladle nearby or in the pot.
- Step 2
Heat olive oil over medium heat in a wide, heavy nonstick skillet or a wide, heavy saucepan. Add onion and a generous pinch of salt, and cook gently until it is just tender, about 3 minutes. Do not brown.
- Step 3
Stir in rice and garlic and stir until the grains separate and begin to crackle. Add wine and stir until it is no longer visible in the pan. Begin adding simmering stock, a couple of ladlefuls (about ½ cup) at a time. The stock should just cover rice and should be bubbling, not too slowly but not too quickly. Cook, stirring often, until it is just about absorbed. Add another ladleful or two of the stock and continue to cook in this fashion, adding more stock and stirring when rice is almost dry. You do not have to stir continually, but stir often. After 10 minutes, add asparagus and continue to stir and add stock for another 10 to 15 minutes, until rice is cooked through but still al dente.
- Step 4
Add another ladleful of stock to the rice. Stir in pesto and additional cheese and remove from heat. Taste and adjust seasoning. Mix should be creamy (add more stock if it isn’t). Serve right away in wide soup bowls or on plates, spreading risotto in a thin layer rather than a mound.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Ric Crabbe
This is pretty much, "make risotto in the usual way, stir in some pesto at the end." As with all risotto, using real stock makes a world of difference.
Chris
Ric has a good point that this is first, “make risotto in the usual way” then add asparagus and pesto and cheese. Ever since I realized that I could skip all the stirring when making risotto I have relied upon the pressure cooker to do it for me. Literally 5 minutes under pressure and you’re ready to add the asparagus. I simply sautéed onions and garlic in olive oil, added the rice and wine, cooked off the wine, added 3.5 cups of stock and locked the lid. Makes this an excellent weeknight dish.
Richard Janssen
Nice. I recommend dry frying a handful of pine nuts first and then tossing them into the risotto at the last minute for added crunch. Make enough that you can snack on them while stirring. I used the cut-off ends of the asparagus to make the stock.
Juliana
Great basic recipe that can be modified easily. I made a smaller amount with 1 C rice, 1/3 C wine and 4 C stock (which I didn't use all of). Used asparagus and some leftover sausage and served on top of a bed of arugula with a dallop of pesto on top- yum! Could easily use other veg like greens or mushrooms.
John
Substituted some things, but it was still great: - Onions swapped with shallots, cooked in butter - Parmesan and pesto swapped with smoked cheddar cheese It got rave reviews. Btw, I recommend Better Than Bouillon for delicious, convenient broth!
Megan
I thought this turned out quite nicely! I wanted to add some protein, so I tossed some frozen Lima beans into the simmering stock, adding them to the rice with the stock. They added a nice creamy texture.
RB
@chris: how did you know to reduce stock in half? I used the full 7 cups and am waiting for an hour for this risotto to be finished. Ugh!
RGW
Simmered woody asparagus ends in the broth for 30 minutes, then discarded the cooked pieces. Also reserved adding the asparagus tips until until the step of adding the pesto. The asparagus was very slender. We enjoyed this dish alongside sautéed scarole with green olives and golden raisins
Leticia
I made it with Zucchini and it was delicious as well. Made half recipe and more than enough for two.
McInelly
It may vary depending on your stovetop and pan, but I needed every drop of broth. (Gas stovetop and the more powerful burner) I seared my asparagus pieces briefly in bacon grease as the first step in the frying pan. Took it out, set aside, and added it back at the end. It worked out nicely .
Lydia
I don't know who's eating at this household, but this ain't no 4-6 serving dish. Serves 2, maybe 3 if one doesn't eat much.
Erica
We loved the pesto risotto. But we did not need nearly the amount of liquid called for in the recipe. We used 1.25 cups of arborio rice and 3.5-4 cups of broth. We also waited to add the asparagus until we added the last ladle of broth, and that kept it crisp, and we added the pesto at the end.
bonseyb
This recipe is great. Added peas but o/w followed it exactly. Perfect for the spring veggies in my CSA box! Thank you!
S. Fromartz
I made this recipe following Melissa Clark's cookbook recipe for pressure cooker risotto, blanching the asparagus and adding them at the end with parmesan, lemon zest and squeeze of lemon. So maybe it wasn't this recipe at all LOL. But it was otherwise the same and delicious.
Nancy Pyle
Finally, an easy recipe for risotto! I have made it with 1 cup of wine added to the broth and thought it was way too rich. I'm so glad I don't have to constantly stir it. I followed the recipe to the tea. Wonderful! Thank you, Martha.
Mike Kamm
A crowd pleaser. I used chicken broth accented with Better then Bullion, added sautéed mushrooms, some red pepper flakes and garnished with parsley and lemon zest.
Jess
I personally am not a huge fan of regular pesto, so I used my arugula pesto in this, which I make using pistachios instead of pine nuts. A little grittier than pine nuts, obviously, but is so good in this dish. I also add chicken to mine.
Audrey E
Cooked the 1.5 cups arborio rice with 4 c of chicken bone broth and it was PLENTY! Glad I didn't heat up the full 7 cups. It would have been wasted.
Diane B
Excellent recipe. Definitely make your own stock...with usual veggies, mushrooms stems, asparagus stems, garlic, basil, parsley, parm rind, peppercorns. etc. Awesome! I made a combo of asparagus and basil pesto...oh so good!!
A Lee
Very easy - but so salty! Next time will try a sodium free broth and maybe skip the pesto for more veggies instead (I added mushrooms and will try peas too). Plenty of salt from the cheese.
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