Today a recipe for a first course: creamy risotto with asparagus and mascarpone.
When asparagus season begins I never miss an opportunity to eat them. One of our favorite dishes, together with pasta with asparagus and mortadella, is a perfectly creamy risotto. A true delight for the palate.
Preparing it is simple but you must respect a few small steps, including toasting the rice and the final creaming; in this case we finish with a delicious mascarpone, perhaps the one you have left over from making a good classic tiramisù.
Perfect for Sunday lunch or holidays, also great for Easter lunch, this first course will be much appreciated by your guests who will surely ask for seconds.
I used cultivated asparagus, but if you are lucky enough to go and pick wild asparagus, your dish will gain even more flavor. A small anecdote: when I was little my dad and I went into the woods to look for asparagus — he walked behind me and collected a lot while I, who was in front, couldn’t see them and picked very few! 😅
Now let’s see, step by step, how to make this recipe.
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Budget
- Rest time: 1 Minute
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Cooking time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, All seasons
Ingredients for asparagus and mascarpone risotto
- 1 3/4 cups Carnaroli rice
- 11 oz asparagus
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- to taste fine salt
- to taste black pepper
- 2/3 cup mascarpone
- 1/3 cup white wine
- 1/2 onion (small)
Tools
- 1 Saucepan
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Frying pan
- 1 Immersion blender
Let’s prepare the risotto with asparagus and mascarpone together
Clean the asparagus by removing the toughest ends and then wash them thoroughly under running water. Put plenty of water to boil in a saucepan and immerse the asparagus; when they are tender but not overcooked, drain them without throwing away the cooking water. While the asparagus cook, finely chop the onion.
Place the asparagus on a cutting board, cut off the tips and set them aside, then cut the asparagus stalks into pieces up to the point they feel tender, leaving at the end the slightly tougher and stringy parts. Put these last parts into a container, add half a ladleful of the asparagus cooking water, a pinch of salt and a grind of pepper and blend everything with an immersion blender until you obtain a cream.
In a nonstick pan pour the olive oil and the chopped onion and sweat lightly; then add the asparagus pieces and then the rice and toast for about one minute. Deglaze with the white wine and let it evaporate, then continue cooking adding a ladleful of the asparagus cooking water at a time. Add another ladle only when the previous one has been absorbed, gently pampering the rice and stirring.
When only a few minutes remain of the rice’s cooking time, add the asparagus tips and continue to cook using the asparagus cooking water. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. When it’s ready, turn off the heat and add the blended asparagus cream and the mascarpone, then stir to combine everything.
Una Riccia recommends
If you cannot find fresh asparagus you can also use frozen ones; additionally, if you do not like the taste of mascarpone you can replace it with pecorino and a knob of butter or with a creamy cheese.
FAQ (Questions & Answers)
When are asparagus in season?
Asparagus season runs from April to June, although these days you can start finding them as early as March.
