The creamy asparagus risotto with crispy bacon is a delicate and refined first course, prepared with fresh seasonal asparagus. When spring bursts into all its shades, the table also dresses in its colors and scents. Making creamy asparagus risotto is very simple, and for the recipe, even the asparagus scraps are used to make a delicious vegetable broth to cook the risotto. Once the broth is ready, blend them with the other asparagus to prepare an excellent cream to enrich and make our asparagus risotto creamier. What a pleasure it is to bring this good risotto, blended with lactose-free parmesan, light, and with a little crispy bacon to the table to make it more delicious. Those who want a vegetarian or simply lighter version can avoid adding it; in any case, it will be a delicious dish perfect for a family lunch.
If rice dishes are your passion like mine, here are my favorite recipes.
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 2 Minutes
- Preparation time: 40 Minutes
- Portions: 2
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring
Ingredients for Creamy Asparagus Risotto with Crispy Bacon
- 9 oz asparagus
- 1 cup risotto rice (Carnaroli)
- to taste olive oil
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot
- salt
- 2 oz bacon
- 1 oz Parmigiano Reggiano DOP
Tools for Preparing Asparagus Risotto
- 1 Pot
- 1 Pan
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Peeler
- 1 Ladle
- 1 Spoon
Preparation Steps for Creamy Asparagus Risotto and Crispy Bacon
First, clean the asparagus, cut off the tough ends, and don’t throw them away as we will use them for the broth. Then peel the lower ends of the stems with a peeler, but you can skip this if the asparagus is tender. Then cut off the tips and finely chop the stems.
Prepare the broth for our risotto with a couple of liters of water, half an onion, half a sliced carrot peeled with a peeler, and use the tough stems we discarded. Remove only the base where they were previously cut, slicing off a thin piece.
Cut the bacon, removing the rind, into strips, and brown it in a pan without adding anything. The fatty part will gradually become transparent and release some fat, allowing it to become a bit crispy. Set aside, and in the pan, prepare the asparagus.
In the same pan, with a drizzle of olive oil, brown about half of the asparagus, excluding the tips. Add some chopped carrot and onion and a pinch of salt, allowing them to flavor. Then add a ladle of broth and let it cook for 5 minutes before transferring it to the food processor. Do not blend yet. In the same pan, add a little oil and some chopped onion and carrot, let them gently fry, then add the remaining asparagus with a pinch of salt, and allow to flavor for 5 minutes over low heat, if necessary, with a little broth to let it dry. Set aside some tips to garnish the final plate.
Asparagus stems to be blended
Asparagus stems and tips
Next, add the rice to the pan when the broth has completely dried, let it toast, then deglaze with white wine, allowing it to dry well, and gradually add the broth needed to cook our asparagus risotto.
In the food processor cup, where I set aside the asparagus sautéed in bacon juices, I also add the stems cooked in the broth, avoiding overcooking them, and blend them together with a little broth to obtain a cream like in the photo.
When the risotto is almost cooked, add the asparagus cream and allow it to flavor for another minute, adding the necessary broth to finish cooking, and adjust the salt. Turn off the heat, mix in grated parmesan, and let rest for 2 minutes before serving, garnish with the set-aside asparagus tips and crispy bacon, you can also mix some into the creamy asparagus risotto.
If you want, you can also blend all the asparagus to make the asparagus risotto even creamier, even though it’s already very creamy. For 4 people, just double the quantities. You can also replace the bacon with shrimp.
