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Note: If making your own vegetable stock, try roasting the veggies first: carrot, onion, celery, garlic.
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Then add water to the same pan, simmer, adding more veggies, a splash of wine, balsamic, bay leaves, a sprig of rosemary.
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I like to use a very weak stock for risotto.
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If using store-bought, water it down significantly, but do make sure the stock you use is well seasoned with salt and pepper.
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Prepare the ingredients:
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Much of the prep instructions is in the ingredient list.
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The asparagus should look perfect in the rice and not be overcooked; blanching separately helps and is worth the extra dirty pan because with fresh garden asparagus, the tips are too fragile for the stirring required for risotto.
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The delicate flavor of morel mushrooms is often lost amid the other ingredients.
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Sauteing them in butter until the edges start to brown and crisp, then sprinkling with salt and pepper helps give them an extra dimension.
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When par-cooking the risotto (see related link), you will need more liquid to finish the risotto.
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You can use water, or deglaze the pan you cooked the mushrooms in with water and use that.
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Or, if you use dried mushrooms, save the soaking water and add it to the risotto.
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It has a lot of flavor.
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Cooking the risotto:
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Bring the stock to a simmer in a sauce pan.
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In a separate large Dutch oven or pan large enough for the finished risotto, heat the butter or oil over medium heat, and saute the onion until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
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Add the pressed garlic and cook for another minute.
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Add the rice, stirring constantly, and saute for another couple of minutes.
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Add the wine, stirring, until mostly absorbed.
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Add the stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring more often than not.
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When the stock is mostly absorbed by the rice (when you stir, there isnt liquid sitting on the bottom of the pan anymore), add another cup of stock.
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Occasionally take a bite of rice to see what stage it is at.
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It will take from 30-45 minutes to cook the rice over low heat.
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If you run out of stock, just use hot water.
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As you add your last cup of liquid, add the mushrooms.
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Once the rice is cooked, stir the blanched asparagus into the rice and gently stir until spears are heated through.
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Stir 3/4 cup of the grated cheese into the rice.
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Put into a big pretty bowl and top with remaining cheese.
