Asparagus & Pistachio Risotto

My wife is a pistachio fiend. If I leave a bowl on the side and turn my back for a moment, the bowl will be devoured. It seemed only right to combine them with her favourite vegetable: asparagus.

In my opinion, Carnaroli rice is by far the best rice for making risotto. The texture is far superior to other varieties of risotto rice that I have tried, and it is far more forgiving, yielding better results. It can be slightly harder to track down; therefore, if you are unable to find Carnaroli rice, you can substitute it for Arborio.

You will need a food processor for this recipe. I tend to use chicken stock when making this, as I prefer it, but use vegetable stock if you would like to make this dish vegetarian-friendly.

Prep 15 mins

Cook 30 mins

Total 45 mins

Serves 4

Watch

Ingredients

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 white onion
2 cloves of garlic
360g Carnaroli rice
1L homemade stock
250ml white wine
1 bunch of asparagus
50g shelled pistachios
100g grated parmesan cheese
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Method

Put a high-sided frying pan or casserole dish on medium heat with the oil. Finely chop the onion and cook until soft. Season with a good grind of black pepper and a pinch of salt.
While your onion is cooking, snap the woody ends from your asparagus by snapping in your hands. Chop the asparagus heads off the stems and set aside for later. Take the asparagus stems and the pistachios (save a couple of pistachios for garnish) and blitz in a food blender until they form a paste.
Finely chop the garlic and add to the pan with the onion, then add the rice and stir for two minutes.
Combine the stock and the wine and add a small ladle to the pan. Now mix the asparagus and pistachio paste, then turn the heat down to a simmer.
Consistently stirring, continue cooking the rice at a simmer. Once the liquid has more or less been absorbed, add another small ladle full of the stock/wine mixture and repeat. Continue this process for around 20-30 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender and creamy.
In the last 5 minutes of cooking, stir in the asparagus heads and grated parmesan into the dish. At this point, check your seasoning and adjust if necessary.
Once fully cooked, plate the dish and garnish with a few of the reserved pistachios on top.